Avatar Katara
by 100gamesvictor
Summary: Aang was found by Hakoda before Katara was born. When he died, the spirit passed on to a new body. Follow the adventures of the new Avatar as she goes on her quest to stop the Fire Nation.
1. The Boy and the Birth

**AN: This story is nothing like canon. There are a lot of OCs and a lot has changed. If you don't like it, I've warned you. You can still read and tell me you don't like it, but honestly, I don't give a crap.**

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><p>Hakoda was stealthily treading through the ice. The beam of light the just emitted from the top of the ice burg didn't look remotely safe. Hakoda knew that something was in the ice. He had seen a boy in the ice and the boy's eyes were open.<p>

Hakoda came around the bend in the ice and found a boy. He was an airbender. That was obvious from the blue tattoos that lined his head and limbs. His head was shaved and he had orange runic on over yellow clothes.

Hakoda knelt down and pressed his fingers to the boy's neck. There was a pulse, but it was very faint. This child wouldn't survive. Hakoda knew the most his tribe could do was prolong his life by a few days.

Hakoda looked behind the boy's limp body. A flying bison, much like the ones that occasionally, though never when the Fire nation is nearby, fly across the skies of the South Pole. Looking at the beast, Hakoda knew it was already dead.

Now that he knew that there was no danger here, he went to the edge of the ice island. He called out. "Bato! Come here quick! There's something I need help with." Moments later, Bato came over, jumping from ice patch to ice patch. His burly frame and large build made some small cracks in the ice, but there wasn't enough to be serious.

Bato landed on the ice island and looked at Hakoda. His gray eyes shone with alarm. "What is it Hakoda?"

Hakoda ushered him over to the boy. Bato knelt next to the boy's head and lifted it out of the snow. He looked at Hakoda worriedly. "We must get him back to the village. Maybe we'll be able to help him there."

Hakoda nodded slightly. He knew that Bato knew that this was false hope. This boy was going to die. As sad as the thought was, it was true.

Hakoda helped Bato lift the boy up. He carried his feet as Bato carried the boy's head. They got to the edge of the ice when they were faced with a dilemma. "How are we going to get back to the village with him?" Hakoda asked. They had no way to travel around.

Bato eventually took the boy and put him over his shoulder carefully. He nodded for Hakoda to continue jumping. Hakoda jumped to the next ice sheet and stepped back when Bato jumped over, careful not to allow the boy to fall. They continued like this until they got to the mainland, which was still ice. They walked for over an hour, occasionally stopping to readjust the boy's body over Bato's shoulder.

They eventually came into sight of the village. The eight foot wall of snow that was a shoddy defense for the village stood on the horizon. The sun was setting, casting yellow-orange light onto the snow.

The sun had just set when they crossed the borders into the village. There was a fire lit in the center of the village. All forty- three residents of the village were sitting around, frantically muttering and shooting glances at a woman.

She had dark hair piled onto her head. She had blue eyes shining with worry. The fire light reflected off of her olive skin and blue parka. She was very pretty. And also very pregnant.

She held a small boy in one hand and the other rested over her swelling belly. It was clear that she was days away from giving birth. When she noticed Hakoda and Bato coming toward everyone, she cried out. "Hakoda! Thank the spirits! Where have you been? I would get up and slap you, but my legs hurt." She turned to an older woman with blue eyes, silvery hair pulled up in two loops, and a purple parka and said "Kanna, go and slap your son for me, would you."

The woman, Kanna, got up and walked over to Hakoda, and slapped him fiercely across the face. She hit him so hard that a red spot was apparent even under his olive toned pallor. In a craggily voice, she spoke. "How dare you! Kya is pregnant and you have the nerve to pull a disappearing act. You are so lucky that she can't get up and beat you herself—" Her words were cut off by Bato's guffaws. She turned to him and slapped him across the face as well. She was about to fall into another tirade when she noticed the boy on his shoulders. "And who is that?"

Hakoda sighed. "He's the reason we took so long. We were fishing when we found him. We noticed a beam of light shoot out of an iceberg as it cracked. Bato stayed away, but I went to check it out. Inside, I found him and a flying bison. The bison was dead, but he's still alive. But he won't be for long if we don't help him."

Kanna was still glaring at her son, though the glare had softened slightly, and motioned for him to bring the child to the fire. As they brought him forward, men, women, children alike moved out of the way. All that was left was Kya. She sat in her seat; glare wiped from her face and a look of concern etched in its place. She held out a mittened hand toward the boy and gently cradled his head as Bato placed him on the floor.

Kanna turned to another woman and said "Bring the medicinal herbs. This boy won't survive, but we may be able to wake him up." The young woman nodded. She went off and returned moments later with a basket filled to the rim with supplies. Kanna began to work moments before Kya cried out.

"The baby's coming," she rasped. Kanna looked up from her work. The boy was getting worse. He'd be dead within the hour. It might have been kinder to let him die in his sleep, but she wondered if she could wake him up. Kya looked at Kanna and said "Keep working on him. Sekoia can help delive—ah!" The older woman nodded. Another older woman, Sekoia, stepped forward and assisted in helping Hakoda and Bato lead Kya into her family's tent. The baby she was holding before was now in the hands of her friend Dakota.

Kanna continued to work on the boy. She tried, and mostly succeeded, in ignoring the sound of her daughter-in-law's screams. After forty-five minutes, she managed to wake him up. After about five minutes, she managed to get him coherent.

"Hello boy," Kanna said softly. She had sent the rest of the villagers away. This child didn't need to be surrounded in death. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Aa—Aan—Aang." He rasped. He closed his eyes and Kanna felt his heart stop. At that same moment, Kya's cries cut off.

After almost an hour of excruciating pain, Kya sighed in relief. It was over. A baby's cries filled the air. Kya looked at Hakoda. He was beaming at her. Sekoia handed the baby to him and he leaned down so she could hold the baby as well.

"It's a girl," he whispered. She smiled as she named her.

"Katara."

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><p><strong>Review! Review! Review!<strong>


	2. Waterbender Training

**This Chapter is devoted to Katara's waterbending training. It is really not necessary to write this down, but I have a reason. I want to show how far Katara has progressed in her training without a master. In the series, Katara could barely control water while Aang, due to his status as the avatar, seemed to be a natural. Enjoy.**

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><p>It had been eight years since that day. The day she had been born. The day that the boy, Aang, died.<p>

Hakoda and Kya never told Katara or Sokka, Katara's brother, about the events before her birth. It was a mystery to them. They didn't know who the boy was. He could have been anyone. However, Kya had her suspicions about the boy. If she was right, she didn't want to remove her children's hope.

Katara proved to be a waterbender when she was only four years old. She had accidentally made the water in a bowl freeze. The first waterbender born into the Southern Water Tribe since her grandmother's generation. Hakoda, though he had his doubts, searched the whole South Pole for a master to train her. His efforts were futile. All they proved was that Katara truly was the last waterbender in the Southern Water Tribe.

Katara was therefore forced to teach herself waterbending. Her Gran Gran, Kanna, along with the other village elders all told her what they remembered of waterbending. This was hard tedious work. Katara had never seen waterbending in practice. The elders' advice, though helpful, was a shoddy substitute for a true master.

Kanna once told Kya and Hakoda how shocking Katara's mastery of waterbending has progressed to. Even from as young as age six, Katara had an aptitude for waterbending. Her natural talent was profigious.

Katara started out small. She did as Kanna told her. She tried to push and pull the water, attempting to replicate the moon pulling the tides. She spent several weeks learning and refining this technique. She soon got to the point where she could control a large wave with ease.

Kanna told her of a waterbending technique that was used for beginners. She was told to try to stream water. The goal was to give her a feel for how the water flowed. It took several days, but Katara managed to truly feel the water. After that, it became much easier for her to complete more impressive streaming techniques. She began shaping the water, swirling it around her body, and moving it vertically as well as horizontally. She had become so proficient in the technique that she was able to manipulate the water almost unconsciously. It quickly evolved into her signature warm up technique.

Her next attempt at waterbending was creating a wave. Kanna told her that it would give her a feel of handling great amounts of water without actually controlling how the wave moved. Out of her original three techniques, this one took the longest for her to master. She spent several months simply trying to complete the technique. She spent two more months trying to master it and three more refining it.

That was the extent of her training with water. Though she naturally continues to practice her techniques, she had moved on to more advanced tactics that she herself created with the assistance of her tribe.

Her first attempt at controlling snow was a catastrophe. She had no control over the snow, though it is simply water. She was unable to connect with the water in it that she was unable to see. She managed to pull the snow into the air when it exploded outwards. Several tries later and Katara seemed to be able to make snow float. Several weeks later and Katara managed to master control over snow.

Her next objective was to control ice. This was easier than anything she had previously learned. She had already discovered how to find the water in snow, sot it was relatively easy to apply that knowledge to ice.

After several months, Katara mastered and refined her technique for controlling ice. Recently, she has been trying to freeze water into ice, with only moderate success. She once overheard Kanna, in her gravelly voice, say to Kya "It is terrible that her prodigious talents are wasted. It's not as if she doesn't want to learn. She doesn't have anyone to teach her."

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><p><strong>Well, there you go. Review! Review! Review! <strong>

**I can't decide who should teach Katara waterbending. I have an i dea of who shouldn't, but I want a second opinion. It's up, take your pick **


	3. The Vote and Goodbye

**SO Sorry that I haven't updated in a while. I haven't watched any Avatar. Now that I did, I could get back to writing this. Voila!**

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><p>Years have passed. Unfortunately, Katara's waterbending training never did progress very far. Though she had natural talent that was prodigious in level, she reached a road block when she couldn't seem to develop her bending past melting and freezing.<p>

That was the problem with that was to be addressed at the next meeting. Hakoda proposed a stealth operation into the heart of the Fire Nation. He planned to free the trapped waterbenders and find Katara a master. However, he couldn't do that without surely risking the lives of many of his tribe. Therefore, he was putting the idea to a vote. If they chose to, they would continue with the operation. Hakoda spoke with an Earth Kingdom peasant. He apparently has an inside man that will help them. If this lead turned out to be true, then there was a good chance that they could get into the heart of the Fire Nation to free their benders.

Ritka, the most outspoken tribesman against the idea slammed his hand down on the table. "This is a suicide mission. We can't risk our tribe for our Chief's daughter."

Yokota, Hakoda's greatest supported besides Bato, Looked calmly at Ritka. "It's time that our people were freed."

Atoma, one of Ritka's supporters, said "There's no proof that there are any waterbenders left."

Hakoda looked up. "Alright. We need to act. I'll go by myself if I have to. I won't even try to free all of them. Just one will be a small success. If that fails, then I'll sail to the Northern Water Tribe."

Bato looked horrorstruck at Hakoda. "Hakoda! There are so many things that can go wrong. That is simple killing yourself."

Ritka leaned forward. "Let's put it to a vote."

Every hand went up against going to the Fire Nation in any way. Hakoda nodded, expecting nothing less.

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><p>That night, Hakoda filled a canoe with supplies. He had a sleeping bag, food for the trip, and clean water. He was ready to leave.<p>

After the meeting, the plan was formed in his head. He went home and played with his children. He watched his son play fight a snowman. He laughed with his daughter as she threw snowballs at his head. He spoke with his mother and kissed his wife.

That evening, when he was putting eight-year-old Katara and ten-year-old Sokka to bed, he hugged them both extra tight and whispered in their ears that he loved them.

This plan revolved around secrecy, but he had to tell Kya. She couldn't wake up the next morning to her husband gone. When he told her, she cried and weeped, but knew that it had to be done. She wanted to see him off, but that would alert the children if one of them woke up and they were gone. It wasn't uncommon for Hakoda to be out at night. Both of them, however, was cause for alarm.

Hakoda finished placing everything in the canoe when he heard a voice. "Where do you think you're going?" Hakoda turned around to see his mother. She stared him down with cold blue eyes. Behind her, Bato stood, towering above her head.

Hakoda failed to speak. Then, his mother smiled. "Go." Hakoda stared at his mother in surprise. "It has been so long since I had hope. Katara brought it back to life. She needs a teacher."

Bato stepped forward from behind Hakoda's mother. In his deep voice, he said "You can't do this alone. I'm coming."

Hakoda leaned toward his friend. "Bato, I want you to come. You've got to remember, this is going to be very difficult."

Bato shrugged. "We've done worse. Listen. Katara needs a master. If she doesn't get one…well let's just say bad things could happen. You'll need backup while looking for one. I'm coming."

Hakoda looked at his friend. They had known each other for years. Grown up together. Their friendship had survived a lifetime of war. If the situation was reversed, Hakoda wouldn't have hesitated before jumping into the canoe.

With a sigh, Hakoda nodded. "Alright, get in." Bato walked over the ice, stepped into the canoe, and sat down. Hakoda's mother walked over to them. In her hands were a sleeping bag and supplies for Bato. "Be safe."

Hakoda pushed the ship off of the shore and began to row. He watched alongside Bato as the icy she slowly faded into darkness, taking all he ever knew with it.

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><p><strong>Again, sorry about it taking so long. I know the chapter was short, but I thought that this was a good place to end it.<strong>

**Review!**


	4. Dirty Dealings

**Okay, sorry for the long time with no updates. Writer's Block. What can you do? However, I am pleased to post the new chapter for the story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognizable Avatar characters.**

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><p>Rowing through the sea proved to be exhausting, tedious work for the two men. They went in shifts when rowing, but there was little to do except row and sleep. Occasionally, one of them would try to make small talk, but it often failed dismally and resulted in more silence.<p>

Despite that, the two Water Tribesmen were nothing but happy with their goals. The girl in their village needed at teacher, a _waterbending_ _master_, and they were sailing to get one for her.

One early morning, sun just rising into the sky, everything changed. They had been sailing for weeks and they had watched the sea change. The waters moved from ice filled to barren of anything. Then, over that previous week, they began to notice boats in the distance. The air turned warm and the parkas that they donned were removed in favor of their lightweight underclothes. They had entered Earth Kingdom waters.

Through all that time, it still took a week for the two of them to reach the dock. They took particularly long because Hakoda insisted on checking his map repeatedly in order to confirm that he was at the correct dock. It wouldn't due for them to arrive at the dock and discover that it wasn't the one that they wanted to be at. They needed to be at Jiang-Wu dock in order to meet their informant.

Pulling into the dock, Bato assisted Hakoda in tying the boat to the dock. They both took much needed stretches in order to work out the kinks in their necks and the stiffness in their muscles.

"Bato," Hakoda said after a moment of basking in the reality of being on dry land. "The informant is this way." He pointed his finger in the opposite direction and they started off.

From a few feet behind him, Bato asked "What exactly is this informant going to give us?" The curiosity in his voice was muddled by suspicion.

"Well," Hakoda began, "hopefully he'll give us a way to get into the waterbender prisons to help us free them. If that fails, we'll just have to head up north." The last part he said with a shrug.

Walking along the harbor was exciting in and of itself. There were hundreds of people milling around the area. They were all from different parts of the Earth Kingdom, obviously, by their different features, skin tones, and clothing. There were a few Fire Nation soldiers scattered about, but not enough to be worrisome.

"In there," Hakoda said, nodding in the direction of an alleyway. Surreptitiously, they altered their course to head in the direction of the alley. When they arrived at its opening, they glanced around to be sure that there wasn't any Fire Nation soldiers. Then they slipped in.

The alley, despite the light of the day, was darkened by shadows. Hakoda treaded swiftly down the alley before stopping halfway through. He turned to face a door that, if it hadn't been pointed out to him, Bato would have surely missed. Hakoda knocked sharply on the door three times. A moment later, the door opened a crack and Bato could get a glimpse of a short, old man there.

"What do you want?" an old, crackly voice croaked.

Hakoda said, in a firm whisper "We've come for the information on the southern waterbenders." A moment of dead silence followed. Then…

The door creaked as it swung open. Before them stood an old man with disheveled grey hair. His eyes, one abnormally wide open and the other squinted tightly, stared at the two of them. His mouth was opened in a scowl to reveal yellowed teeth with several missing. He was wearing the usual attire of an Earth Kingdom peasant. However his were dirt ridden and wrinkled.

"You may come in." With a sharp flick of his hand, he motioned for them to follow him into his home.

The man led them to a dimly lit room, the only light source being a single dying candle. There was a hard wooden table in the center of the room. It was cluttered with papers and scrolls and maps. There was one chair which the man sat in.

Bato remembered what Hakoda had told him on their journey. He wasn't to ask the man's name. In this man's line of work, it was better for him to be unnamable.

Hakoda stood at the opposite side of the table from the man, Bato a few steps behind him. He looked down on the man before saying "We want to know of a way to free the captured waterbenders."

The man looked at him, his wide eye narrowing slightly. His scowl deepened. "I can't help you free the captured waterbenders."

"_What?_" Hakoda hissed. "When we last spoke you told me you knew of a way to free them!"

"No," The man shook his head. "I told you I knew of a way to help you. You had been talking about needing a waterbender. I can tell you how to get one."

This, of course, piqued Hakoda's interest and calmed his anger. "How?"

"Payment." He held out one old, wrinkled hand.

"Half," Hakoda said, withdrawing a bag from his pocket that clinked with coins. He emptied what he assumed to be half of the bag into the man's hand. "You get the other half when we get the information."

The slight grumbling from the man made it obvious how he felt about that, but he withdrew his now money filled hand and placed the money in a jar on the table.

"I can get you a waterbender."

Bato could practically feel Hakoda rolling his eyes. "You already told us that."

"I meant," the man was obviously annoyed, "That I can tell you where to find one."

The man launched into details. He told of which ferry they must board and what island they must get off on. He told them how to approach the waterbender and how to gain her trust. He also offered to give them the required supplies to get on the ferry and into the land, "For and enhanced fee," the man had said.

Hakoda placed more money in the hand. He then held up the bag and jingled it. "Twenty gold pieces after we receive the supplies and deem them satisfactory."

The man's eyes glowed lustfully at the mention of the money and he walked over to a trunk and pulled out a box. From the box, he pulled out two lard outfits that would surely fit them, but may be slightly loose.

"This box," he laid a small wooden box down on the table, "contains all that you will need. You will need to wear these. Now, fee." He held out his hand and Hakoda placed the bag into it.

Hakoda turned to Bato. "Help me get this." The two hastily changed into their new clothes before taking that box on the table and walking out.

They left their former clothes in the canoe before heading toward the ferry that would take them to their waterbender. Hakoda sifted through the box, taking one passport for himself and handing the other to Bato. With them, they boarded the ferry.

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><p><strong>I know, it's evil. But I want it to be a surprise when I reveal who will teach Katara waterbending. I figure that it would make people come back for more. Some people will hate me for what I choose, but it's my story and I have final say.<strong>

**Review!**


	5. The Teacher

**Okay, some might be upset about my choice of teacher but i don't care. My story, my teacher. Also, some OCs are going to be in as well as some recognizable characters. It should be fun.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters, the world, or anything that was in the show. I do, however, own the plot**

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><p>Being back at sea did nothing for Hakoda and Bato. However, being able to move around freely was a nice consolation. The walked the topside of the ship, moving about and enjoying the ocean air, as they sailed. The weather was getting consecutively hotter, an occurrence that reminded Hakoda and Bato of where they were going. This wasn't a safe expedition. They were in danger.<p>

Despite that reminder, the pair couldn't deny their awe when they noticed the land cresting on the horizon. As they pulled into the dock, the pair waited anxiously as the crew slowly lowered the anchor and allowed passengers to leave.

Walking through the city, they were met with rich golds and deep crimsons that gave beauty to one of the worst places, in their mind. The people, clad in red and gold like themselves, walked and laughed and enjoyed their lives. They were at peace.

Hakoda and Bato paid no attention to any of them. Their mission was essential and they would need to act swiftly if they hoped to get away from the Fire Nation alive after they were through.

It didn't take long for them to leave the village limits. They walked down the dirt path that led into the plains of the island. Surrounding them, in the richest colors imaginable, were fields of green grass and trees. Everything was vibrant and alive and almost dancing in the light.

As they approached the building, they went over how they were to introduce themselves to the woman.

The building was large enough to hold several people, but small enough to allow nature to flourish around it. The red roof had a gold trim and the two Water Tribesmen swiftly walked up the steps to the front door.

They knocked on the door, awaiting the answer. After a few moments, the door opened to reveal a woman in her mid-forties. She had black hair tinged with the slightest bit of grey and amber eyes. She looked at them and said "May I help you?"

Hakoda nodded. "Yes. We're looking for Hama. May we speak to her?" The woman looked startled. It seemed as if Hama rarely had any visitors.

"Yes, she's this way." The woman ushered them through the house and into a cozy little sitting room. She then went to the doorway and called "Hama! There are some people here to see you." The woman turned to them and smiled before walking out of the room.

Moments later, a woman walked into the room. She was significantly older than the previous woman, nearly twice her age. She had long grey hair pulled up in a large bun. Many wouldn't identify this as a style of the Southern Water Tribe, but they did. Her grey eyes, however, were a rarity among the Water Tribe. They existed, Sekoia had them in fact, but they were a rare occurrence.

She smiled sweetly and said "May I help you two strapping young gentlemen?"

Hakoda nodded and said "We're from your home village, Hama."

Hama chuckled lightly, however her expression became guarded and there was something behind her gaze. "I highly doubt that but continue."

Hakoda stood and walked over to Hama. Her eyes widened as he bent his head down and whispered in her ear "We're from the Southern Water Tribe."

"Why are you here?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. There was something to it, a desperation to know about her tribe's fate.

Bato came to stand next to Hakoda. "A waterbender has been born into the tribe," he whispered to her. "She has no one to train her. We heard of you from a contact in the Earth Kingdom. We were hoping you would return and train her. We have means to get you there."

Hama walked over to the sofa. As soon as she was near it, she collapsed into it. "I just don't know. I've been gone for almost sixty years. I want to return, believe me I do, but my life will be so different from before."

Hakoda walked over and sat down next to Hama. "I know that this would be confusing for you, but the waterbender is my daughter. She needs a teacher and you are the only one we could get to. If you say no, I guess that we'll be forced to head to the Northern Water Tribe. But doing that could take years. This war may very well be over by the time we return and she may be dead. She needs a teacher. And you're her best chance."

Hama looked at him. Yearning filled her gaze. Hakoda realized that she did wish to return home. However, there was something that was holding her back. However, slowly determination flooded her gaze. She nodded her head and stood.

"I will be back soon. I must get something before I depart." With that, she marched out of the house. This left Hakoda and Bato to wait for her.

Half an hour later, they discovered what Hama needed to retrieve. Walking behind her were two people. One was about their age. The other was about fourteen. They both had pitch black hair and Hama's grey eyes. They wore Fire Nation attire but Hakoda was certain that they were Hama's family.

"This is my son, Ruruk. This is his son, my grandson, Arkile. They will be coming with us."

Shaking himself out of his daze, Hakoda nodded. "Of course they can. There are ferry tickets if they don't have their own and we'll be able to leave soon."

Hama nodded. Her son, Ruruk, said "We all already have passports and are Fire Nation by birth. We'll be able to leave freely."

This surprised Hakoda and Bato but they silently agreed to ask about it on the ferry. They glanced at a clock and Bato said "Well, we need to go now. The ferry leaves in half an hour."

Hama nodded. "Of course. I've already told my employer that I will be returning home immediately, she doesn't know where that is but she won't be suspicious. We must hurry." With that, she shuffled out of the room and out the door. Her family and Hakoda and Bato quickly followed after.

They arrived at the ferry just in the nick of time. They boarded and went to Hakoda's room. They felt that it was a good time to talk.

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><p><strong>Yeah, so Hama's going to be Katara's teacher. What do you thing about that? I for one know that it'll be interesting. Plus, I know what's going to happen but still.<strong>

**I added some OCs that are Hama's family because, I'm the author! I can do that if I want to.**

**Tell me what you think. Good? Bad? Good and Bad? I like to know. And that can be done with reviews.**


	6. Tales of Waterbenders

**Okay, so the story is now going to start picking up. It is going to show some characters in different light then usual because I want to. Let's begin.**

**P.S. I don't own Avatar or any of the recognizabel characters. **

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><p>"So Hama," Hakoda began, "why don't you tell us your story?"<p>

Hama looked down. The red light of the fire cast strange colors over her complexion. Her eyes brimmed with sadness. Tears began to well up in her eyes at the thought of her memories.

Ruruk interceded. "Mom," he said gently, "you can do this. They deserve to know. Everything."

Hama nodded. "You're right," she managed to choke out. "They do." Hama took a deep breath and looked up at them.

"I was born in the Southern Water Tribe over eighty years ago. At the time, there was a surplus of waterbenders to teach the art. I learned the art over the years and mastered techniques. Life was splendid back then. Then, one day, black snow began falling from the sky." Hakoda and Bato both knew what that meant. Fire Nation. "We were unprepared. There wasn't any defense against it. They began marching in. They bombarded the city. We had no defenses against them.

"Hit and run. That was their plan." The bitterness in her voice was tangible at that. "Every raid cost us more and more waterbenders. They used special nets. They were designed to prevent waterbending. Once you were tangled up, you didn't get out. Not without help.

"Life seemed to go on in between raids. The most noticeable difference was the lack of bending. That was able to be dealt with. The problems were when our numbers continued to dwindle. We fought them. Ship after ship we sunk, but it wasn't enough. Soon, there were too few waterbenders to perform such techniques.

"We were forced to start hiding. They searched for us, and they captured every last one. I was the last to be captured. I had been hiding in a friend's igloo when the raid began. They marched through the city. They were sure that there was one waterbender remaining. The city was completely destroyed while they looked for me.

"I made a decision. To keep them from continuing their assault on the tribe, I went out to the front of the city. I stood my ground as they approached. They surrounded me. Outnumbered, I was forced to surrender.

"They led me away in chains." Her voice seemed to become detached by that point. "I was loaded onto the ship and turned to see the face of a dear friend crying over my capture. I, too, was in tears. I was the last waterbender. I was taken.

"The prisons were the worst form of torture imaginable. In there, we were in cages, suspended from the ground and kept from all water. Dry air was pumped in to prevent us from getting water from natural air. When they gave us water to drink, they made sure that our hands and feet were chained. There was nothing we could do."

She looked up at them. Guilt filled her gaze as she spoke. "I knew that there must have been some way to escape. Every full moon, when my power was at its peak, I felt myself being enriched with energy. Then, I began to notice rats that scurried across my cage. I'm no proud of what I created, but it freed me. I began to notice that every body is filled with water. It made me realize that I could control that water to escape.

"I spent months developing and practicing the technique. Bloodbending." She said the word like a curse, as if it were poison that she was trying to expel from her body. "The ability to manipulate the water in someone's body to bend them to your will. It was my only chance.

"The next full moon, I waited for the guard to pass my cage. Then, with my newfound technique, I forced him to open my cage. When I was out, I looked around toward all of my fellow waterbenders. I desperately wanted to free them, but doing so would alert the gaurds to an escape. One of us going missing wouldn't be noticed. Several of the cages were empty and many would assume that mine had always been. The guard that freed me would never say anything. To reveal what happened would mean that he was defeated. He would likely lose his job and it might convince other waterbenders to free themselves. I walked out alone.

"I wandered through the Fire Nation islands for several months. I had sworn by that time that I would never again use bloodbending. It was a horrid power that will die with me. Then, one day, I was walking through a village when I bumped into a man. His expensive clothes and regal expression told me that he was a rich man. He offered to take me to his home. I had nowhere else to go so I accepted.

"Soon I fell in love with him. We spent months together. When I discovered I was pregnant, I decided it was time to tell him who I was. I was convinced that he loved me as I loved him and that he wouldn't mind. He did.

"He yelled at me and told me to leave his home and to never return. He said that he was calling the authorities and that they would be there to arrest me in five minutes. He tried to detain me after that, grabbing my arms and keeping me from running. There was a vase of water in the room. I managed to get his hands off of me and I ran. He never even knew I was pregnant.

"I took to the woods after that. Despite the unsanitary conditions, I gave birth in the woods to Ruruk. I was relieved that we were both healthy. I had planned to return to the city when I discovered that my baby boy was a waterbender.

"That complicated things. He was too young to control it. I was forced to stay in the woods and raise him there. I taught him what I could about waterbending, but the woods are no place to learn. When he was ten, I decided that he was ready to reenter the Fire Nation."

Hama stopped speaking and gave in to her sobs. Arkile, her grandson, began rubbing circles on her back and telling her that all of the horror was over. With one sad glance at his mother, Ruruk picked up where she left off.

"We moved into a village on a remote island. It was far enough away from my _father._" There was a great deal of venom when he spoke the words. "We lived there for years. When I was sixteen, I met the girl of my dreams. She was amazing, but would have never gone for me. I spent a year chasing after her. Then, when I was seventeen, almost eighteen, we began dating. It was fantastic. When we were twenty, we welcomed Arkile into the world. I insisted on naming him. Mom had told me stories of the tribe and I wanted a piece of them in my child. And there was.

"Arkile first waterbent while I was out. His mother was home and she saw him. She confronted me about it. She asked why our child could waterbend. I had no other choice but to tell her everything. She told me to take Arkile and to get out. She never wanted to see us again but she didn't want us arrested. I didn't think twice as I took Arkile and headed for my mother. We packed up and left. That's our story. It's not exactly happy, but it's what happened."

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><p><strong>Yes, I know that I really changed Hama's story. But I figured that this woman had no way of making money and I wanted her to be good. Therefore, I made her swear off bloodbending. It was the right thing to do, I think. Now, what do you guys thing of the OCs? Good? Bad? Tell me with...<strong>

**REVIEWS! **


	7. Returning Home Gives a Surprise

**Okay, this is the next update. I love the reviews that I'm getting. I'm honored that so many people like my story. So here it is.**

**I'm so sorry to say that I only own the plot**

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><p>The story took up an entire day of their journey. The day after, they had been sailing an express ship, they arrived at the Earth Kingdom dock. The group of five quickly left the ship and walked down the harbor. The people tended to avoid them, a result of their Fire Nation attire no doubt, and they reached the canoe within the hour.<p>

The canoe was quite large, able to seat all five of them comfortably, and they all settled down to set off. Hama told them that, once they were far enough out to sea, she would be able to waterbend them back to the tribe. She told them that it would cut their travel time in half.

So Bato and Hakoda rowed the canoe. It took several hours, but they were soon far enough away that Hama was comfortable waterbending them the rest of the way. Ruruk and Arkile offered to assist her, but she shot them down. She said that they had no experience with _real _waterbending as she called it and told them to sit and wait.

Hama was correct. The three week long trip that they originally took was cut down to a week and a half with her waterbending. Soon enough, they were sailing through ice bergs and bits of ice swirling around the water.

As they approached the mainland, Hama stopped waterbending. She looked at the barely visible village on the shore. Horror etched into her gaze as she watched it. Bato noticed tears in her eyes.

"Is that it?" she asked weakly. Her voice was faint and laced with sadness.

"Wow," Arkile said. "It seems a lot smaller than the way Granma described it. I was picturing a city made of ice."  
>"'Kile," his father said, a warning in his voice.<p>

"What? It's what I envisioned."

"It was," Hama replied. Suddenly, she sunk to her knees and continued to stare at her former home. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at it.

As gently as possible, Bato put a hand on her shoulder and said "There was no need to keep such a large city. The tribe had no way to maintain it."

Hakoda looked at Ruruk and they came to a silent agreement. They both picked up ores and began rowing toward the shore. Arkile, who had begun shivering slightly throughout the entire trip, was now shivering noticeably. Hama was the same though she was better at concealing it. Ruruk's teeth were chattering but his did a good job of hiding it. Bato realized that they hadn't been anywhere so cold in over sixty years.

When they hit the shore, Hakoda jumped out and aided Hama with getting out. The others soon followed and they walked slowly toward the village. Their tread was slow to allow Hama to keep up. Though from their travels with her they were sure that she was in excellent health and was usually energetic, they knew that this would be difficult for her so they allowed the woman to take her time.

When they entered the village, they were met with a sight that they weren't prepared for. Around the bonfire, clad in furs of mourning, was the entire village. In Kanna's arms were Sokka and Katara. Both were weeping into her parka. The sight immediately put Hakoda on edge.

"Hello?" he called to the villagers. The wariness in his voice rung for all to hear.

The two children looked up and smiles graced their features as they took in their father standing there. They both escaped from their Gran Gran's grasp and began sprinting toward their father. When they reached them Hakoda scooped them into his arms and held them tightly to him. He could feel their sobs and hear their weeps as they cried into his shoulder.

He buried his head in their hair and cried with relief that his children were alive and well. But where was Kya? He thought that she would be hugging him too. No, he was sure that she would be. The funeral pyre, as he could now identify, alerted him that she was likely comforting someone that lost a loved one. Of course that was it.

Katara pulled her head back. Tear tracks ran down her face and her lips quivered as she spoke. "Daddy," she stuttered, "There wa…was a rai…a raid. Mom's dea…de" and she collapsed into sobs.

That moment caused Hakoda's entire world to fall to pieces. His knees gave out and he fell into the snow. He held his two children but he didn't feel them in his arms.

She was gone. His vision blurred and he barely noted his mother walking to him. He didn't feel her place a hand on top of his head or her pulling him into a hug.

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><p><strong>Okay so yeah, Kya died. It was sad, but it had to happen. On another note, I just wanted to say that I have completed up to chapter 14. After I get 6 reviews an updat, I'll post the next chapter. So, if you want updates, REVIEW! <strong>


	8. Raid Revelation

**So here's the update. I think that it will be interesting. Enjoy.**

**I don't own anything **

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><p>"What happened?" Hakoda needed to know.<p>

It turned out that they had missed the burial at sea but had arrived for the burning of incense. The Water Tribes believed that when an influential figure passes on, they must burn meat and spices to welcome them into the next life. It was a rite of passing and Hakoda was touched that the tribe felt Kya was important enough to get that honor. After all, he wasn't here to ask them for it.

Kanna looked at her son. Grief was etched into her features but she felt that his story might be more important. She didn't want to give him the gruesome details until he had told his story. She wanted him to remember everything.

"Why don't you tell us yours? Get it off your chest before having to hear about it." She looked at her son who was still holding his daughter and watched him nod.

"We went to the Earth Kingdom and met with our contact. He told us that he couldn't get us to the prisons but he did know of a waterbender who had escaped. This is Hama." With that, he pointed to the woman that was about Kanna's age. She and the two men with her were given parkas to wear by Bato.

Kanna stared at the woman in astonishment. She looked at the grey eyes and was sure. "Hama."

The woman stared back before her face broke into a smile. "Kanna. It's really you?"

Kanna nodded at her friend. "Yes it's me. I stayed here, in the tribe and Hakoda is my son. Who would have guessed that you would be brought home by my son?"

The two women laughed and Hama said "Who would have guessed that we would have sons around the same time?"

"This is amazing. You're home." The two women got up and embraced each other. After sixty years of no contact, the two of them would have to catch up later.

Bato cleared his throat. "This reunion is beautiful, but we told you our story. After that, we just came back. What happened here?"

Kanna and Hama's moods sobered up quickly with that. Kanna cleared her throat and said "A raid. They came here. For some reason they thought that there was another waterbender. Kya was the one they interrogated. Katara was there."

Hakoda gasped, holding his little girl closer than before. Kanna nodded. "I know. Kya sent her out of the tent to come and fetch me. When we came back, the man was gone. By the time she had found me, I had been with the rest of the elders at the back of the village, the ships had already disappeared into the horizon. By the time we returned, they were surely gone." Her voice broke off for a moment before saying "Katara, Sokka. You should leave. I don't want you to think about this." Naturally the two protested, but a stern look from both their Grandmother and their Father convinced them to leave. Hama, knowing that they would try to eavesdrop, created a large wall of ice over the door stop them from hearing.

"Continue," she said to her friend when she was done.

Kanna nodded. "They had killed her. Burned her to death." Both she and Hakoda were sobbing at the thought. "Katara was horrified. Then, the strangest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow and the wind began whipping around her. She floated into the air, tearing your tent to shreds, and began waterbending. It wasn't her average waterbending though. She threw out her arms, by that point I had to cover my face and brace myself, and an enormous crater was made in the snow. She destroyed half of the village. That's how it was destroyed." Bato nodded. He had noticed the destruction, obviously, but he didn't ask about it. He thought it was because of the raid and with Hakoda in such a state, he felt he should let him grieve without bringing up raids.

"The strange thing was," Kanna continued, "Katara had no memory of creating the crater. From what she said, one minute she saw her mother's body, the next she was lying in my arms. Nothing remained."

Dead silence followed. The gathering sat there, trying to process what they heard. "So what you're saying," Hama spoke hesitantly, "Is that Katara could airbend?"

"She's never done that before. It makes no sense," Bato spoke, incredulity in his tone.

"But how?" Hakoda muttered. Airbend? Katara? She was a waterbender.

"The boy," Kanna spoke. "The day Katara was born, a boy was found in an iceberg. He was clearly an airbender from his attire. He died right when Katara was born. If he was the…" her voice trailed off.

"No," Hakoda spoke. "She can't be. If she was, that would mean that she was in serious danger. She can't be the…" His voice broke off.

"The Avatar," Hama finished.

"But that would mean," Bato said. However, he couldn't find the words to finish the thought.

"Katara is the Avatar."

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><p><strong>Okay, yeah. Katara's the Avatar. I bet no one figured that out, right? I tried to grasp the Avatar State as best I could but it isn't easy. So tell me what you think. Sorry about the shortness of it. That was where I needed to end it. So, I need to ask everyone to review. It'll get updates faster. That being said...<strong>

**REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! Please ;)**


	9. Waterbending Training, Take Two

**This is the next updat of Avatar Katara. Voila (I love that word)**

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><p>The news seemed to be accepted by everyone in the meeting. After all, it was only Kanna, Hakoda, Bato, Ruruk, and Hama. Though they didn't know the girl well, Hama and Ruruk trusted their companions. They believed that this girl was the avatar and they believed it as well. Due to that, Hama felt that, though normally she would give time to grieve, Katara needed to begin her training. It was essential for the safety of the world that she is a competent bender and that wouldn't happen if she didn't begin training immediately. This was important to the entire world.<p>

When the meeting let out, Hama went over to the crater Katara caused. Yes, she thought. Massive waterbending caused this. However she was still skilled enough to quickly bend some ice and snow to fill the area and close the gap.

She then went up to the walls and smoothed over their surface. She froze it into solid ice for protection. She had mentally decided, though it pained her, that the Southern Raiders would know that there were waterbenders if the place had too much sophisticated waterbending done on it. Therefore, she decided to leave it, for the most part, the way it was.

She then headed over to the igloo that was inhabited by Katara, Sokka, and Hakoda. She quickly pulled the tarp that acted for privacy off and went inside. Sitting on several blankets were Sokka, Katara, and Hakoda. There was silence in the room as they mourned their mother/wife. It pained Hama to interrupt them, but it had to be done.

"Katara," Hama said kindly. She knew she was interrupting her grief but she didn't have to be cruel about it. She was going to show kindness toward the girl. "We need to begin training."

Sokka glared at Hama. "Can't it wait?"

Hama sighed and shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Katara must begin training now." With a grunt, Katara pushed herself up from the ground and walked over to Hama. The two of them walked toward the outskirts of the village. Just at the edge, they were met by Ruruk and Arkile. Both were dressed in their own blue Water Tribe parkas and were prepared to follow Hama to their training ground.

When they were about fifty feet from the village, Hama created their sparring ground. With several graceful sweeping movements she cleared away all imperfections in the icy ground and left a sturdy area to train.

Hama turned back to her new students and said "I know that you are all different ages but we must begin as if you are on the same level. Ruruk, Arkile, you both never had any extensive training so you will start from the beginning. Let's begin." With that, their training went underway.

Hama followed a very similar warm up exercise as Katara. She had them stream water and manipulate it to "become one with the water" as she put it. After about an hour of that, Katara was the only one to have mastered it.

Arkile looked at is Granma and angrily said "I'm doing the same thing she's doing," he pointed at Katara. "If I'm going something wrong, then why isn't she?"

Hama looked at him. "That's the problem. You're imitating Katara. What you're not doing is _feeling _the water. You're simply moving it around. If that were all there was to it than anyone would be able to become a master waterbender.

"To truly master water, you must feel the water. Don't move it around. Direct it and let it flow where you wish it would. Once you can do that, you can move on to the next techniques."

Hama then turned to Katara and brought her over to begin actual training. Arkile watched from a distance as his Granma taught Katara a new technique.

He scoffed under his breath. "Feel the water. Yeah right. It's not possible. Unless I get splashed I won't feel anything."

Ruruk, however, seemed to be starting to understand it. Slowly, he began to start doing as his mother told and after a few more minutes, he too was starting the lesson. That left Arkile alone with the streaming technique.

At first he was frustrated that he wasn't good enough to continue the technique, but his attention wandered to the other's training. Hama was showing them how to use streamed water as a whip. The idea, apparently, was to take the water and use it like a whip to attack enemies. Arkile got some sadistic pleasure as Katara's first attempt hit her on the backlash. However, his pleasure melted away as she quickly gained control over it. Arkile watched as his father soon gained control of the technique as well.

Arkile shook his head and turned back to his own exercise and did what he had been doing. He did it again. And again. And again. After his tenth try, a shadow was cast over him. "I know, I know! _Feel the water!"_ he shouted.

"That's not what I was going to say, but it does help." The voice was not that of his Granma's as he thought, but that of a little girl's. He looked up to see Katara standing over him. His Granma stood a ways away helping his Father with the next technique which Katara, it seemed, had already mastered.

"What do you want?" Arkile didn't even try to keep the venom out of his voice. In fact, he wanted to upset her.

"Well," she began, "I figured I'd tell you a little trick. When I first started, I couldn't do it either."

"You did it on your first try!" Arkile said dismissively yet angrily.

"I've been practicing this technique for years. It was one of the only things that my Gran remembered about waterbending." This silenced Arkile. "What I meant was that the moon is a great helper. Every night, I watched the way the tide acted under the moon. I practiced from that. Sometimes my mom—" her words cut off and she began crying slightly. "Anyway," she said, regaining control of herself. "Imagine the water as if it were a miniature boat that you can't control. All you can do is tell it where to go." With that, she turned around and walked back to Hama.

Arkile stood there for a moment. Then, he began again. He started pulling the water out of the ground and doing as Katara said. He began telling it where to go instead of moving it. By his fifth try, Hama deemed it good enough to allow him to start on the water whip.

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><p><strong>Well, what do you think about the cahracters? Good? Bad? Not so good? Not so Bad? Tell me with REVIEWS!<strong>

**REVIEEWWS! REVIEEWWS! (little happy dance!)**


	10. Life Changing Events

**Well here it is. I love writing this story. So I updated faster.**

**I don't own anything but the plot**

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><p>By the time that Katara was fourteen, she was a master of combative waterbending. She could spar and defeat all three of her fellow waterbenders as well as a group of warriors at once. Arkile and Ruruk had also mastered the art but they weren't at her level. The only one of them that could ever match her blow for blow was Hama. Her teacher was still an excellent waterbender at that time.<p>

The war was still going terribly. However, there had been news coming in from the Earth Kingdom from Hakoda's trips into the mainland. Apparently, in the Northern Earth Kingdom territory, the Fire Nation met resistance from a former employer of theirs who, from what the people had been saying, refused to assist them anymore. The Fire Nation led an attack against the area but they were quickly defeated.

There were other, littler things. The Fire Nation conquered more and more territory. They met resistance but the overpowered it. There was little that could be done. The morale, already low, was lowering quickly. No one had any idea of what to do to fix things.

Katara watched as her summer drew to a close. On one of the final days of summer, just before autumn arrived, the sky turned red. A brilliant red comet flew over the sky. Katara didn't know why but it made her feel exhilarated. She had never felt more powerful than in that moment. It was as if a piece of her was being heightened to its zenith.

As quickly as the feeling came, it passed. By the next morning, the sky was blue once again and the feeling left her. Days later, Hakoda returned from the Earth Kingdom. The Fire Nation had apparently gained a great deal more power on the day and that allowed them to attack the Earth Kingdom. They nearly slaughtered the Earth Kingdom army but the comet's power passed before they could. They had tried for Ba Sing Se and they hadn't had the time to get to it.

Therefore Katara continued her training as a waterbender. After her mastery of combat, Hama instructed her, Arkile, and Ruruk as healers. This development is was the next two years of her life was devoted to. In that time, she learned the pathways of chi and how to use waterbending to heal wounds.

The week before Katara's birthday, her life changed. On that day Hama came to her and announced that she was a master healer. While walking around the village, she noticed Arkile leaning against a wall at the edge of the village.

"Hey Kataarra," he drawled. "So, practicing any new moves with my Granny. It's funny because you spend more time with her than I do. No wait, it's actually sad."

Katara looked at him. "You're right. It is sad that your Granny likes me more than you. Why else would she be teaching me so much?"

All of the humor left Arkile's features. "Take that back."

Katara smiled sardonically. "I will when you master healing. Did you hear the news? I have been named a master healer and have completed my waterbender training. How much do you have left again?"

Suddenly Arkile sent a sphere of ice flying at her. Katara didn't even blink as she melted the ice and sent a jet of water back at him. Before he even managed to block it, Katara melted the snow around him and brought it up to encase him up to his waist. Then she froze it. She then sent two arching curves of water up from the ground to freeze his arms in place.

Arkile struggled futilely against her trap. He twisted and struggled as Katara walked away. She continued to her home. The igloo in which she and her family live had grown through time. As Katara grew in skill the igloo grew in complexity. Slowly it grew to be twice its original size and have to connected rooms on either side.

When Katara entered, her brother Sokka was seated on a chair and was sharpening his boomerang.

"Hey Sokka."

Sokka looked up and saw his sister before turning back to his boomerang. "Hey Katara. What did Hama want? Another lesson?"

Katara sighed. "You are the second person who said that to me and they are currently trapped in ice. No. She told me that I was a waterbending master."

Sokka dropped his boomerang. He turned to face her, astonishment written over his face. Then his face broke out in a smile and he said "That's amazing! Congratulations!" Then, in a rare show of affection, Sokka got up and hugged Katara.

She smiled. "Thanks. I'm really excited about it. What a great early birthday present."

Sokka smiled. "Yeah. Does Dad know?"

Katara nodded. "He was there when Hama told me. She thought he would want to be there."

Sokka nodded. He knew that their father would want to be there. He would want to know that all his efforts in finding her a teacher paid off.

"Well," Katara said. "I've got to get ready for my party in a week. Bye."

The week went by and Katara prepared for her sixteenth birthday party. In her tribe, sixteen was the age of becoming an adult and she was excited to be called one. Her Gran Gran insisted that the tribe follow old traditions and have a party to celebrate. The bonfire was enlarged and Hama assisted Katara in making seating and areas for food. Two of the elders who were skilled with instruments prepared to lay traditional Water Tribe music and others prepared a feast. Everything was coming together to create a fantastic occasion.

During the event, Katara mingled with her entire village. She talked to the little children and spoke with some of the adults. Everything was beautiful and she loved it. Then, she went onto the stage to say thank you to the entire village. While she was up there, the people began to part. Of the sixty people in the village, five were walking through the pathway.

Standing in the front of the group was Gran Gran. Behind her was Hama, Hakoda, Bato, and Sekoia. Silence followed their entrance.

Then Kanna spoke. "We have joyous news. We have come to announce the identity of someone that many of us believed had disappeared before now. All hail Avatar Katara!" With that, she and the other elders fell to their knees in a bow. Soon, the entire village was bowing to her.

Katara noticed Arkile in the background. He glared at her, still standing. Then, a sharp look from Ruruk brought him to his knees.

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><p><strong>So yeah. Arkile's a jerk and Katara's the Avatar. Isn't everything just great.<strong>

**Review for updates.**


	11. The Council

**So, how do you think Katara will react? What will she do? Her life's about to change, that's for sure.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything (sigh)**

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><p>"Why," Katara said shortly. She stood in the igloo made specifically for elder council meetings. Sitting in the places like royalty were Kanna, Hakoda, Hama, Bato, and Sekoia—the elders of the village. Also in the room was Sokka. He was seated next to their father. Confusion and awe was etched onto his face. "Why'd you have to announce it like that in front of everybody?"<p>

She paced back and forth, hands on her hips. "I couldn't have been told in private first so that I could be prepared?

"I mean, it's not like I looked like an idiot up there with everyone staring at me and bowing down. And what was with that? Bowing down? Why did you have them bow down to me?"

She groaned and continued pacing. Throughout her training she had learned to rein in her emotions in order to keep her bending in check, but there was only so much she could handle.

"And what makes you even think that I'm the Avatar anyway? What _insane _event would give you even an inkling that I could be the Avatar? A boy in an _iceberg?_ That's what you're basing this on? How would that even remotely deem me the Avatar? Who even says that he was?"

Hakoda looked as if he wished to interrupt. However Kanna held her hand. It would be better to let her get it all out so that she wasn't interrupting them when they tried to explain.

"And even if he was," Katara raged, "There must be hundreds of waterbenders that are my age in the North Pole. Who says that it's not one of them? And above all…WHY DID YOU HAVE TO RUIN THIS DAY!" With the last word, cracks began to form in the ice surrounding her feet.

At last, Katara was finished. She breathed heavily as she glared at the elders, daring them to justify their actions. None of them did. All were afraid that she would kill them if they opened their mouths. Finally, after a moment of silence, Katara yelled "SAY SOMETHING!"

"Katara," her Gran Gran said. "It wasn't the boy that convinced us."

"What was?"

"You remember when your mother died?"

Katara grunted. "Of course I remember. It was the worst day of my life." She turned her head slightly to hide the tears that welled up in her eyes at the thought of that day.

Kanna felt it best to continue. "When we saw your mother together, you were horrified. Your eyes began to glow and you started airbending. You created a circle of air around yourself and flew into the air. Then you sent out a blast of energy that caused a crater to form in the ice. When you came down, you remembered nothing. The others of the tribe were too shocked to talk about it and most thought it was simply waterbending. But I was there. I felt the wind circling around you. It convinced us that you were the Avatar."

Katara closed her eyes. "Why did you have to announce it?"

"Tradition," Sekoia said. "It is traditional that, on the Avatar's sixteenth birthday that it be announced to those present. So we did."

Katara fell to her knees. She was the Avatar. The master of four elements. The one she'd been waiting her whole life to meet. That one that could end the war. _Her?_

"I can't believe this." Her words were barely a whisper. Hakoda rose from his seat and went to hug his daughter. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and held her close.

"I know sweetie. It's a lot to take in. But don't worry. You can do it."

Her body shook with sobs and she nodded. She looked past her father and said "What do I have to do?"

Bato took over from there. "Well, you need to master the other elements. First earth. Then fire. Then air. You can go to the Earth Kingdom to find a master pretty easily but the others…we have no idea. But when you do finally master them, you'll need to go to the Northern Water Tribe. They'll help you from there. I'm sorry. We don't know what else to tell you."

"Katara," Kanna said, "We're here for you. You should go pack your bags and prepare. You'll need to leave in the morning. Your father will accompany you to the Earth Kingdom. He'll take you to Omashu. While there you will surely find a master. After that he'll have to return. Mastering the elements is a task you must undertake alone. No one from here may be there." There were tears in Kanna's eyes as she said that.

Katara nodded and pushed herself to her feet. She turned to leave the igloo and walked into the night. She had only walked for a few minutes before she heard it.

"Why doesn't it surprise me? Why isn't it shocking that the chief's daughter is the Avatar? Oh, right. She gets everything."

Katara turned to glare at Arkile. He stood there, leaning against and igloo with a smirk plastered on his face.

With a sigh, she said "Well you won't have to deal with my 'greatness' anymore, Arkile."

This seemed to take him off guard. "What?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow. You'll be top of the class. Oh wait. That's still not you." With that, she turned and walked to her igloo.

While inside, Katara packed some of her lighter clothes. The Earth Kingdom would be hot and she wanted something light to wear. There were plenty of other things for her to pack, but she felt that she wouldn't need them. With a sigh, Katara threw herself onto her bed and closed her eyes.

Almost immediately, Katara found herself awake. She was in a strange, swampy area that seemed to have a peaceful feel to it. The area calmed her for some reason and she stood. Then, out of a fog, came four figures. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew their names.

Aang, Roku, Kyoshi, and Kuruk.

The four previous Avatars before her. They were standing in front of her, looking down at her with kindness in their gazes. Well, most of them looked down at her. Aang was twelve when he died and quite tiny. She had no idea how she knew his age, but she did.

"_We're here for you,_" Roku said. His voice seemed to echo through the area.

Kuruk looked at her. _"When the time comes to master airbending, we will find you a way. There are many mysteries of the world that are open to you. Do not fear."_

Kyoshi looked at her. Her gaze seemed fierce and somewhat cold. _"Do not speak of this meeting until you have mastered the elements and ended this war. This is a private meeting between we Avatars."_

Aang shook his head. Grief radiated off of him in waves. _"This is all my fault. If I hadn't run away, I could have stopped this war a hundred years ago. Now I'm forcing you to do what I should have done."_ His eyes betrayed the guilt he had over his needing her to end the war.

"_Fault rest with others, myself included."_ Roku said this to both Aang and Katara. _"This is the opportunity to revitalize the world._"

With that, before she could even speak, the four Avatars faded into the mist.

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><p><strong>Soo, what do you think? Did I get her reactions right? They felt right but maybe not.<strong>

**REVIEW! please.**


	12. Dinner With a King

**And now to begin her earthbending training. This'll be so much fun!**

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><p>The gates of Omashu were gigantic structures made out of earth. In fact, there wasn't a gate really. It was more of a large wall that could be opened by earthbending. There were two guards stationed at the foot of the wall that determined if each person was welcome in the city. If they decided no, the person was sent away.<p>

Hakoda and Katara waited on the line for their chance to get to the front. They waited as each person walked to the front and asked for admittance. If they were given entrance, the gate was opened. If not, they were sent away and, in some cases, their belongings being tossed off the cliff.

When they reached the front, Hakoda said "I am Hakoda and this is my daughter Katara from the Southern Water Tribe. We need to be admitted into the city in order to meet an acquaintance of ours. May we come through?"

The guards contemplated for a moment. "You will be staying in the city?"

"My daughter will most likely be staying. I will be leaving." The guards nodded before opening the gate and allowing them to pass.

Omashu was made out of as much earth as the Water Tribe water. That means everything. Katara Glided through the city, noticing the people all around were of the Earth Kingdom. Many were earthbenders and were using their bending in their daily lives.

The pair made their way up through the city. When they reached the gates to the palace, Hakoda stepped forward to speak with the guard.

"We must speak with the king immediately in regards to the war effort. I am Hakoda and this is my daughter Katara of the Southern Water Tribe. This meeting is of vital importance."

The guard looked at him and shook his head. "No one sees the king uninvited." He tried to usher them away but they stood their ground.

"Please sir, what we must speak with him about may end this war." A look of acceptance crossed the guard's face. He wanted this war to end just as much as anybody.

Finally, the guard nodded and opened the gate. "I shall escort you to the king's dining hall. He is currently eating his midday meal. You may speak with him there."

With that, the guard walked them through the gate and into the palace. Like the city, the palace was made of earth. The tunnels they walked through were lined with beautiful works of art but the walls were still earth.

As the entered a large chamber, the first thing Katara noticed was that the large table was filled with food and only one person was sitting.

The man looked up. He wore long purple robes accented with gold and some jewels. His hair was white and missing in several places. His eyes were wide and green. He looked at them inquisitively and said "Well hello there. Who might you be?" His high and shrill. The inquisitive tone was tempered when he cackled slightly at the end.

"Uh, hi. I'm Katara and we need to speak with you in private." She said this hesitantly, wondering whether the king was crazy or not.

Without missing a beat, the king snapped his fingers. "Guards! Begone!" Without complaint or hesitance, the guards left the room. "So what do you need?"

Katara steeled herself to speak. She needed to do this without her father. "As I said, my name is Katara. I'm from the Southern Water Tribe and I'm the Avatar."

Katara didn't know what she expected. Maybe shock, or denial of the claim, or even anger and him forcing her out of the building. What she didn't prepare for was him to slowly start to chuckle. That chuckle soon turned into full-fledged cackling.

"The Avatar, eh?" he managed in between cackles. "So tell me, what was the last Avatar's name?"

Katara and her father had expected a question like this, some way to show that she was indeed the Avatar. They had resolved to say that last one was Roku. After all, he was the last known Avatar. But as she planned to say it, she realized she couldn't. It would be a huge disrespect toward Aang to act as if he wasn't the Avatar. With that being said, she answered.

"The last Avatar was an Air Nomad named Aang. Now I know tha—" Her explanation was cut off by the king.

"Correct." The king smiled loopily at her. "Now I can teach you mush that there is to know about earthbending." Seeing her expression, he nodded with a cackle. "Yes, that's right. I can teach you. But not alone. I personally am one of the two most powerful earthbenders in the world. The other must assist me as well. Ha!" The king burst into a cackle.

"Errr, who is it? Not many people know that I'm that Avatar and I want it to stay that way until I'm fully trained."

The king shook his head, still chuckling as he did so. "Not to worry, not to worry. She'll never tell a soul. She wouldn't even be able to describe you to anyone. Let's get on with it. I'm Bumi. You can call me Master Bumi. Jig Wu!" A man came running into the room quickly and bowed to the king. "Jig Wu, send word to Master Beifong asking her to come to the city immediately. Now, away with you."

Jig Wu left the room hastily and the king turned to the two of them. "Well, are you going to eat?" The two were startled and they hesitantly sat down and began eating all of the different meats and pastries.

At the end of the dinner, Hakoda rose and said "I must be returning to the tribe. Good luck Katara." Hakoda bent down and gave his daughter a fierce hug before departing.

Katara looked after her father. He was her family and the only connection to her tribe with her. Gone.

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><p><strong>So what do you think about her goodbye? Did I get it right? I thought about having it be more emotional but I figured that they knew it would be happening and that it wasn't forever.<strong>

**Review please. **


	13. Time in Omashu

**So here it is. This is Katara's traditional earthbending. I figure it'll be interesting, but pretty soon Master Beifong will arrive. Oh it'll be fun (relishes in the thought of it)**

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><p>As four months went by, Katara anxiously awaited her second teacher. Bumi began her training, telling her about the basis of earthbending and its principles, and he wanted her to practice. He said that since waterbending had next to no lower body movement to it that he wanted her to start training her body physically. He had her dress in the greens of the Earth Kingdom and brought her into a training room.<p>

Instead of what she anticipated, it was a large room, almost three times the size of her village, and he told her to run around the perimeter four times without stopping. Then, without another word, he left the room. Following that, Katara ran four times around the room and was exhausted afterwards. She came into the room and plopped herself down on a comfortable armchair.

When Bumi came in, he was pleased with what she could do. He said that she needed to build up muscle in her arms and legs if she wanted to be a powerful earthbender. With that being said, he began training her to make high, arching kicks. Her first attempt went dismally, but she soon grew more confident in her kicks and punches. After a few days she began earthbending.

The first thing he tried was send boulders at her. After he sent it down a ramp, he told her, it would be up to her to stop it. Her goal was to stop the boulders in their tracks or be crushed.

The first time she tried, she got into the stance Bumi showed her. She prepared herself. And when the boulder came…it knocked her to the ground and was only stopped by Bumi interfering. The next ten tries went similarly.

However, around the twelfth try, Katara managed to stop the boulder in its tracks. The time after that she was knocked down again but it was a turning point for her. She began to stop the boulder more often than she hit it. Progress.

From there she began levitating rocks. It was a palm sized rock at first that took over twenty tries to levitate. After that it took another twelve to do it again. And again. And again.

By that time Katara began working on more sophisticated styles of earthbending, she had been in Omashu for a month. Thanks to Bumi's teachings, she quickly became proficient at said techniques. There were several setbacks, however, when she tried to raise the ground level. However, with time, she developed that as well.

Then the day came that her second teacher would arrive. Bumi never told her the woman's name. He wouldn't say what she would teach. He only told her that the skills would be essential to mastering the element. Katara didn't mind. She had already come to accept Bumi's hyperactive personality.

On the day of her teacher's arrival, Katara waited in the dining hall with Bumi. There was silence as they awaited the woman. Then, as the door opened, Katara was given quite a surprise.

She had been envisioning someone like Bumi. An old woman with a crazy cackle and a brilliant mind for creative thinking. Though she didn't know about the final idea, she knew that the physical description was nothing like she envisioned.

Before her stood a woman, or rather a girl, that was younger than her. She had black hair and colorless eyes. She had her hands at her waist and looked at them. Her clothes, though simple, hinted of designer origins. The true shock was the scowl on her face. She seemed to almost say that nothing would make her happy.

"Hey King Crazy, How are ya?" the girl bellowed. She walked over and slammed her hand down on the table.

This, predictably, drove Bumi to fits of cackling. "Well hello to you miss Toph. How's the prodigy doing?"

Katara looked at this girl. She was a prodigy? Well, she could understand why she would learn from her. She must have a lot to teach.

"Toph," Bumi began, sobering up. "This is Avatar Katara. She is here to learn earthbending and the techniques that you developed could only be taught by you."

Toph nodded before turning out of the room. She waved her hand and said "Come on!"

With a sigh, Katara got up and followed Toph to the training room.

Katara had never been so confused in her life. Here she was in the training room. Toph had handed her a blindfold and told her to put it on. Upon doing so, she said that she was going to start attacking Katara and she needed to block them.

"Wait! How can I bend with a blindfold on? I can't see!" Katara exclaimed.

From a distance, Katara heard Toph say "And I'm blind so deal with it!" A moment later she was hit from the side with a chunk of rock and she was sent flying.

Katara, from the floor, pulled off her blindfold and looked at the girl. "What do you mean you're blind? You seem like you can see just fine."

Toph growled in frustration and walked over to her. "That's what I'm trying to teach you. I _see_ with earthbending. I feel the vibrations in the earth and it allows me to place everything around me. It also means that I can identify footwork when someone's bending. I can predict their moves and stop them. This is really helpful because I can see things from all sides. From behind me, in front, the sides, and even far away. It'll help you fight. You'll be able to spot an attack from behind you. No put the blindfold on and let's get on with it!" Throughout the entire lecture, her voice was a growl before escalating at the end of it.

Katara put the blindfold on and set her stance. Knowing what she was supposed to be doing, she began again. Toph sent a boulder at her and it hit its mark. She did this again. And again and again. All of her attacks were straightforward and with her sight Katara would have been able to stop them. But she was supposed to be able to do it on her own. By the end of the day she still hadn't managed to feel anything.

Katara tried again the next day with the same results. Finally, Toph told her that she wasn't allowed to take the blindfold off until she was able to feel vibrations.

For the rest of the day, Katara walked around the palace with a blindfold on. She couldn't go down a hallway without running into a wall and she missed dinner while trying to find the dining hall.

The next evening, Katara blindly walked down the hall. Thanks to the blindfold, all she could see was blackness. She walked aimlessly down the corridor before ramming into a hard, cool surface. The wall.

Katara let out an animalistic shriek before stomping her foot. As soon as her foot touched the ground she felt something. There seemed to be a force reverberating from her and the entire room came into focus. She could not see any details but she could tell the placements of things in the hall. In fact, the 'vision' extended far past the hall and down several corridors and ups a flight of stairs before fading away.

In that range, Katara could 'see' everything. She knew where all the walls were. She could identify different tables and could even place several ants crawling about three corridors away. She had done it.

Katara turned and walked down the path to the training room. She now knew where she was going and had no difficulty finding it. Upon entering, she looked at the figure that had the build of Toph and said "I can 'see' like you want me to."

"Well then," Toph's voice had a false sweetness to it. "Let's try this again." Toph swiftly turned to face Katara and sent a boulder at her. By 'seeing' Toph's movements, Katara was able to halt the boulder in midair, though it was a blind spot to them both, and lower it to the ground.

Then, she pulled out two pillars of earth from the ground and sent them flying at her. Toph knew what Katara planned and sent herself flying backward with earthbending. The pillars hit the place where Toph last stood and they sparred. Neither could manage to hit the other. Both were far too fast to be out maneuvered. Katara knew that jumping into the air would stop Toph from predicting her moves, but she didn't want to go blind.

Finally, after hours of fighting, the two called a draw. Toph walked over to Katara, breathing heavily and said "Looks like Sweetness got a kick to her."

Katara drew her blindfold off and looked at Toph. "I guess I do. Thanks. You really helped."

"Eh, it's my job." She said this dismissively but there was a slight smile on her face. "Come on. I've got a lot to teach."

Toph then began to teach Katara some advanced earthbending moves that she had developed. With the seismic sense barrier out of the way, Katara began improving rapidly. Instead of the twelve tries that it took to do each technique once, the number was brought down to four. Training in earnest with Toph truly helped Katara's bending ability. Toph had so much to teach and Katara was excited to learn. Over the course of eight months, Katara had advance to being a master earthbender in her own right and still had a lot to learn.

Toph had just taught Katara how to create an earth wave, a great ripple of earth that can be ridden in order to move quickly, when the door burst open and Bumi came in. He had not been seen by Katara since the previous day when they had their lessons, but he seemed worried.

"Katara," his voice was tired and laced with worry. "The Fire Nation has come to our gates. They have given us one day to surrender before they attack. Those fools! Ha! We'll show 'em." He again began cackling before sobering. "The thing is that you must leave here immediately." As Katara began to protest he held up his hand. "The Fire Nation is beautifully ignorant of your existence. It should remain that way. Go. Toph will leave with you. I've taught you all I know. She still has a bit to teach. Flee, the both of you!"

"Bumi, we can help!" Katara pleaded with him to allow her to stay. Unfortunately, he stood his ground.

"No. You are necessary to the war effort. Go!" With that, he turned and left the room.

"Come on Katara." Toph put her hand on Katara's shoulder. She pulled Katara away and they turned toward the wall. Toph opened a hole in the wall before walking in. Katara followed and the two of them sealed the wall before departing.

Using their earthbending, they tunneled through the ground and out of the city. Seismic sense allowed them to know when they were clear of the Fire Nation soldiers and when it was safe to come to the surface.

Looking back at the city, Katara noted that night had fallen and Omashu was lit by the fire blasts encompassing it. With a sigh, Katara turned her back to the city and walked away with Toph.

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><p><strong>So what do you think? How is Toph as a teacher? I really didn't want to get too in depth about the training, it goes on for months, but I wanted to show Katara's progress.<strong>

**Now, I wanted to say that there won't be much action while training goes on. But I promise you, by the twentieth chapter, action will really pick up.**

**Review Please.**


	14. A Master and a Prince

**So here it is. They're on the run and I'm going to finally answer a question i received in an Private Message. "How do Toph and King Bumi know each other?" Well here it is.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Avatar World. That means no characters, setting, or world. I do however own the plot.**

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><p>"Toph," Katara asked. It had been four days since their departure from Omashu and the question had been on her tongue for the entire time. "How did you meet Bumi?"<p>

Toph shrugged. "My parents are really rich. I'm talking four different estates kind of rich. I was born blind. It made my parents really protective of me. One time, I ran away. I came into a cave and there were badgermoles there. They're blind like me. They were the first earthbenders and taught the art to humans. Anyway, they were the ones that taught me earthbending with seismic sense. They were the ones that I learned from."

Katara was intrigued. Of course, she knew how earthbending began but it was interesting to see how it affected Toph.

"My life changed after that. I was able to 'see' and I started bending in a competition, without my parents knowing. One day, I was thirteen at the time, my parents said that we had to head to Omashu. We met King Crazy there. When he found out what I could do he was intrigued. We sparred in secret and he admitted that I was on par with him. What shocked him most was my greatest skill."

Katara smirked. "The ability to give out awesome nicknames?"

Toph chuckled. "That too. But the second time I ran away, I was twelve. I escaped when they tried to bring me back because I realized that metal is purified earth. I used seismic sense and began seeing the impurities. I developed metalbending."

"Wait, metalbending?" Katara exclaimed. "Why didn't you teach me that?" Now she was sort of angry. It would be awesome to bend metal.

"Why do you think I came with you? I'm going to teach you metalbending and some advanced earthbending techniques. We just need to find a place to train. Which is why I think we should head to my parents' house."

"Aren't they overprotective?"

Toph nodded. "But I can't think of anywhere else to go. I mean…I got it!"

"What? Another place to go?"

"When I ran away one time, there was an abandoned factory. No one lived within miles of the place. It would be the perfect place to practice metalbending. And if I'm guessing right, we're not far from there." With that she took off in the direction of the factory. After about a mile of walking, Katara was able to get a read on the factory. Toph must have seen it from their original position. Toph was right, the place was huge. At least as large as their training room in Omashu and filled with metal rods and poles that would be perfect for bending.

Upon reaching the place, they went inside and sat down. They leaned against the walls and quickly fell asleep.

"_Hi Katara," _Aang said. Katara noticed that he was ushering her up. He wanted her to follow him. _"I need to show you something."_

The two avatars hopped onto the flying bison called Appa and took off. Aang took Katara over the entire Earth Kingdom. They soared up and over mountain peaks. Then, their destination was in sight.

The building was gigantic, seemingly carved out of a mountain. There were large spires and pavilions. The place seemed to be inhabited with a great deal of people.

"_Katara," _Aang said. _"You need to get these people out of here. This is Air Nomad territory. The Northern Air Temple. They don't belong."_ Aang stressed the last part to Katara.

"Aang, there are no Air Nomads to inhabit this place. Why not let them stay?"

"_To be honest, I wouldn't mind them staying there if they left it as it was. One of the men there has the nerve to come into sacred ground and defile it. He builds things like elevators and metal contraptions for his people to live with. They don't belong there."_

Katara looked at Aang. The pain in his eyes when he spoke of the destruction of the sacred Air Temple grounds was palpable. He truly couldn't stand the thought.

"How about, when I master airbending, however I will, I'll go to the temple and force them out. They'll get lost and I'll use metalbending to get rid of all the add-ons."

This didn't seem to actually please Aang, but he nodded.

Suddenly, Katara woke to Toph chucking pebbles at her head. Before Toph could throw another, Katara held out her hand, willing them all to the ground.

"Good," Toph said with mock sweetness. "Let's get started." Katara pushed herself up and followed Toph to a metal slab. Toph stood in front of it before levitating it off the ground.

"To bend metal you need to know that there's earth in it. That's where seismic sense comes in. You need to feel for the impurities in the metal, the unchanged earth, and control that. Now, come over to this metal slab." She pointed to the metal slab that she just put back on the floor. "Use seismic sense on it. See if you can move the earth inside it."

Katara walked over to the metal slab and placed her hands down on it. She concentrated for a moment before she noticed what she was looking for. It was true. She could feel the little bits of earth inside the metal. With all the force she could muster, Katara tried to move it. She managed to lift the slab off the floor, but she couldn't get it more than a few feet above the ground. But like always, she thought, progress.

Slowly, she and Toph began manipulating larger pieces of metal. The larger it got, the more difficult time Katara had. By the end of the day, she could barely lift a five foot piece of metal into the air.

Six weeks went by. During that time Katara managed to become proficient at the art of metalbending. She seemed to understand the concept of it and was able to use it properly.

One day, Katara decided to go to the lake not far from the factory. During her time in Omashu she wasn't allowed to waterbend for fear of someone seeing her. Therefore now that she could, she went out to the pond and began.

Despite her initial worry, waterbending was still a second nature to Katara. It seemed that even a year without much exercise of it didn't make her any less skilled.

Suddenly, Katara felt something. She hadn't been paying attention to the vibrations and she didn't notice anyone in the area. However, when she did discover them, she pulled a stream of water out of the pond and shot it at the intruder. The water circled a tree before hitting the target and freezing them.

Very hesitantly, Katara walked around the tree, water at the ready, to see what she would find. When she did, she came face to face with a man wearing Fire Nation armor. He had gold eyes and hair tied up in a ponytail. The most dominant feature to him was the large scar over his left eye. It was obviously made by a fire blast.

"Who are you?" She demanded.

The man glared at her before taking a deep breath and breathing fire at her. Katara barely had time to form a sustainable shield of water before it was hit. Using the technique Hama had mentioned once, Katara pulled the water out of the surrounding trees.

"Let me ask again. WHO ARE YOU?" She shouted.

Clearly knowing that he wasn't going to get another attack, the man said "I am Zuko. Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. And you, are my soon to be prisoner." At that moment, Katara felt the footsteps of people coming fast toward them. She had roughly a minute to intercept them.

Katara blasted water at Zuko's face. Then, she kicked her leg out, sliding it over the ground. Nothing visible to either her or Zuko happened, but Katara could feel when the approaching people, obviously Fire Nation, were sent flying backward and a wall appearing in their way.

With both dangers satisfactorily impeded, Katara broke into a run. She ran about twenty feet into the woods, well out of Prince Zuko's sight, and created a tunnel underground. She sealed the exit to it and began moving toward the factory. No one but an earthbender would find her.

When she came into proximity of the factory, she let herself out of the tunnel. She sealed the opening and ran inside. "Toph! Toph! We've got to go!"

Toph turned to look at her and said "What happened?"

Katara shook her head, breathing heavily. "I'll explain on the way. Come on!" With that, Katara hastily smoothed over all the signs of their metalbending practice and they ran.

Together they created a second tunnel, again closing the opening, and pushed their way through the earth for hours. They didn't stop until they were sure they were miles from their old location. Even then, it was only a rest.

"Now Katara," Toph began. "What happened?"

Katara sighed. She had done a lot of work over the course of one day. "I was practicing waterbending. I haven't done serious practice in over a year. I thought that I could get in some practice. I wasn't paying attention.

"Then I heard a noise. I used the Sense to find out where they were and sent a water blast at them and froze the man to a tree. I walked over to the man and he was wearing Fire Nation armor." At that, Toph glowered slightly. "I demanded he tell me who he was. He breathed fire at me. I blocked it and asked again. He told me he was 'Zuko. Crown Prince of the Fire Nation.'" She said this in a crude imitation of him and Toph laughed. "He then told me that I was going to be his prisoner.

"That was when his soldiers got in my range. He was trying to trick me. I sent them flying backward and created a wall between them and me. Don't worry," seeing her expression. "I made it far enough away so that Zuko didn't see me make it and they didn't see me. Then I froze his face. I ran into the forest, made a tunnel, and went to get you."

Smiling slightly, Toph said "Katara, I can safely say that you are a master earthbender."

Katara was shocked. Staring wide eyed at the girl she asked "Thanks. But where did that come from?"

Toph shrugged. "You were able to earthbend from, from what I gather, about fifty feet away. That is a huge distance between you and the earth you're bending. Only a master could do that. And you are."

Katara smiled at her. "Thank you for that. Now what do we do?"

Toph stared at her. "I thought it was obvious. Now we find you a firebending teacher."

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><p><strong>So how do you like Zuko's introduction? I had him use the full title because I could totally see him bragging about it. Sadly, Zuko won't be seen for a while, but he will be a major <strong>**character after a while. Along with some other firebenders.**

**Now review to tell me what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcom (did I spell that right?)**


	15. Enter a Colony

**So here it is. Katara's going to go freakish earthbender on some unsuspecting people. This chapter was a lot of fun to write. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything fromthe TV series**

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><p>Finding a firebending master a was easier said than done. The Fire Nation was the enemy. There was no way that they would be able to get a master. There just wasn't anyone to teach her. The two friends knew that they had reached a road block in her training as the Avatar that they didn't think they would be able to overcome. The thing was that, all other road blocks were solvable. The invasion of Omashu was upsetting but it wasn't detrimental. Even fleeing the factory was in a way a good thing. It showed that Katara had mastered earthbending. Now came firebending.<p>

Katara and Toph agreed to stick together. They figured that traveling together would be safer and, according to Toph, she didn't want to risk the Fire Nation finding Katara. The having been decided, the pair set off into nowhere.

Katara and Toph walked for days and couldn't decide what to do. If they were to head in any meaningful direction, they would need to find a road. Sadly, they couldn't feel one anywhere near them. So they continued walking. And walking. And walking.

Then, one day, they wandered into an area not far from a Fire Nation colony. Though they were wary of going into enemy territory, they needed supplies, Fire Nation attire, and information. Toph had said that she had once heard rumors of rogue Fire Nation citizens while in her home town. However she had no idea who they were or where they were located. Their only hope was to find one by chance. And those odds would increase if they had any idea of what to look for.

Soon they came into a Fire Nation colony. Everyone was dressed in red with gold trims and they knew that they needed to blend in. It was a matter of the utmost importance that they weren't caught.

The pair of them chanced walking into a clothes store near the edge of the town. The shopkeeper, an elderly woman with plain red robes, looked at them with confusion. However, she didn't do anything. Katara led Toph, pretending that she couldn't see in any way, over to the clothes and picked out two outfits for them. She then turned back to the shopkeeper.

They placed the clothes down on the counter. "12 silver pieces." The woman stated. Katara nodded and reached into the bag of supplies that they managed to retain and drew out the required amount.

"Why do Earth Kingdom folk want Fire Nation attire?" The accusation in her voice was distinguished.

"We're not." Katara stated, not missing a beat. "We were traveling alone over the paths and our mother worried that we would be attacked in Fire Nation attire. She thought those barbarians would attack us. So she made us dress like them. She thought it was a good disguise."

The lie was flawless and the woman's accusation withdrew. She nodded and said "Yes, that is a good idea. I'll have to use it when I send my children out again. Have a good day!" she called as they left the shop. As soon as they were a safe distance away, Toph turned to Katara.

"That was brilliant!" she exclaimed. "Where did you learn to lie like that?"

Katara shrugged, somewhat pleased with herself. "I just made it up on the spot. Come on, let's go change."

The two went into the woods and swiftly changed out of the Earth Kingdom clothes and into those of the Fire Nation. They then came together and found a nice secluded spot to hide their clothes underground.

Then, the two of them set off into the town. In contrast to the majority of the continent, this area had roofs of a red color with gold trims. The pair walked through the town and noticed hordes of Fire Nation soldiers. They seemed to be lining around a common area in the center of the city.

Pushing their way through the crowd, the two girls tried to get to the front. They pushed and shoved and shimmied through the people until they were staring at an open area. Standing on a fountain was a mean looking man with sideburns and a sadistic smile on his face. Below him, kneeling on the floor, were five people. They all wore Fire Nation attire and had the Fire Nation complexion to them. They were all bound and gagged. The sight sickened Katara.

"Today," the man exclaimed to the crowd, "we end the lives of five traitors to the Fire Nation. These men and women have the nerve to call themselves Fire Nation when they willingly conduct trade with Earth Kingdom scum!"

There was an outcry throughout the crowd. Everyone was screaming. However, Katara noted that there were mixes of screams. Many wanted the people dead for treason. However others thought that this was far too severe. They didn't want the people murdered.

The man made a signal to one of the masked guards and he pulled the first man, elderly with black hair and amber eyes, to his feet. He shoved him in front of the first man and pushed him to the ground.

The man raised his hands. He pulled his arms back and…

The bit of the fountain he had been standing on flew up and launched him backwards several feet. Katara ran forward and sharply jabbed in the directions of the two guards on either side of the prisoners. The earth followed her command and they were launched backward. Standing in front of the prisoners, Katara raised her arms and pushed outwards. A gigantic earth wave followed that pushed everyone in the crowd back ten feet and landed them all on their backs.

Katara then waved her hand behind her and sharp rocks came up and cut the bonds on the prisoners. They managed to push themselves to their feet when Katara whipped around and launched herself over them. She landed on the other side of the fountain, face to face with the man planning to kill the prisoners. With two punches he sent two jets of fire at her which she easily blocked with a wall raised from the ground. Then, with a sharp pushing movement, she sent the wall pummeling forward and it hit its mark, sending the man flying backward.

Katara whipped her head back to see the prisoners staring at her. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get out! Run! Go!" Heeding her advice, the five people ran through the mess of civilians and out of sight.

Katara, meanwhile, had to deal with four firebending soldiers coming at her. With a sharp slide of her foot over the ground, one of the soldiers was encased in rock up to his chest. Katara raised a wall of earth with a wave of her hand to block a fire blast and kicked the wall in his direction, knocking him to the ground. With a swirl of her hands in the direction of another, the ground below them liquefied and the fell in before she re-solidified it at his neck.

That left one soldier. Katara stomped the ground and two blocks of earth rose from the ground. She thrust her palms forward twice and the soldier managed to dodge one only to be hit by the other.

Katara then turned back to the original man who didn't seem to be able to take a hint. He kicked a stream of fire at her and she rose a wall from the ground to intercept it. The stream of fire continued pulsing against the wall. Katara thrust her hands forward and sent the wall toward him. The fool didn't relent on his stream and, when the wall became too close, was burned by his own fire.

"AHHHH!" he exclaimed as the fire extinguished. Katara lowered the wall to find him on the ground with burns all over his body. His armor had fallen off when he was blasted back and now his chest, arms, and legs were all covered in burns. With one underhand punch Katara sent him flying by pushing the ground up and him flying off it.

Katara looked to see that the two soldiers that hadn't been properly detained were trying to pushed themselves to their feet. With two outward jabs of her elbows, Katara had the earth imprison them.

Katara then turned back to see Toph, who had managed to force herself to her feet, staring in her direction. A small smirk played on her lips. Katara took off in the direction of the woods, knowing that Toph would follow. Soon, they were safely in the woods and far enough away from the colony.

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><p><strong>So, is she a master? Was the fight exciting? Constructive criticism is welcome.<strong>

**Review.**


	16. An Assassin Really?

**So here it is. We're going to find out who she's trained by. I think how she finds her master is interesting. We won't meet them until yet but there's a little action.**

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><p>"Okay," Toph began. "Though I respect the butt kicking and admire your work, why?"<p>

Katara sighed. She knew she had acted rashly but she needed to save those people. "I couldn't just let those people die. All they did was talk to some Earth Kingdom people. That's not a reason to die." Katara debated for a moment before adding "Plus it felt really good."

This caused both girls to dissolve into giggles at what they had witnessed. If there had been any doubt in Katara's mind that she was a master earthbender, it was gone after that performance. It felt great.

Toph looked at Katara and said "It pains me to admit this, it really does, but you may just be better than I am after that little performance." This caused Katara to start laughing again at the expression on her friend's face.

"Don't worry," Katara assured her. "I'll give you some lessons."

Of course, this led to Katara getting a beat down. "Okay," Toph said after punching Katara for a good five minutes. "Why did you tell me not to do anything?"

Katara shrugged. "I figured I could handle it. After that display, I guarantee you that they'll know me. They'll recognize me in Fire Nation territory. I thought one of us still being able to go around undetected might be good. Are you mad?"

Toph scoffed at that. "Mad? No. I will say that you need a firebending teacher. ASAP. And by the way, I rock." She held up a stack of papers. They were all slightly crumbled but they all were wanted posters.

"Toph," Katara asked tentatively, "how did you know that these were wanted posters? No offense or anything, but you're blind."

"Really," Toph drawled, "I had no idea. That would explain the blackness when I open my eyes. But really," she continued, "I heard people talking about the wanted posters. They were pointing at them so I figured, when you knocked everyone down, I'd grab them."

"This is amazing," Katara said. Her voice was soft and slowly faded at the end. She searched through the papers, walking as she went, until she stopped. "This is it!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"What is?" Toph asked.

"Jeong Jeong. He's a former Fire Nation admiral. 'The Deserter. Once an acclaimed Fire Nation admiral, Jeong Jeong left the military and is on the run through the Earth Kingdom. Beware his lethal firebending and alert authorities if seen.' Toph, this is it! This is the one that can teach me firebending!" Katara looked up smiling at her exclamation. Toph was smiling, too.

"That's great, Katara. Just one question. How do we find him?" This question seemed to temper Katara's enthusiasm. She hadn't thought of that. All she had known was that there was a firebender that was against the Fire Nation.

Toph seemed to take pity on her friend. "Don't worry. I'm sure we'll find him. If we see any runaway group within a five mile radius we'll check it out. With your mad earthbending skills no one will stand a chance. Come on, does it say where he was last sighted?"

With a sigh Katara looked over the poster. "Yes, actually. He was last sighted three months ago forty miles from here. Two colonies away. That would take us a day to travel underground, but there might be some clues to where they went if we go on foot. We should go. It's this way."

With that, Katara set off in the direction of the colony, Toph hot on her tail. They walked for two hours before they deigned to take a break. They rested against trees when they both suddenly felt something. They were on their feet seconds later and turned in the direction of the approaching person.

The way the person moved was stealthily. He knew they were there and he was planning to ambush them. Therefore, Katara shoved her hands outward and felt the two slabs push into place. However, the person wasn't there anymore. They had jumped into the trees and out of sight for a moment. They began jumping from tree to tree, in and out of their 'vision.'

Both girls were on edge, facing back to back for protection, when five throwing knives came pelting out of the tree. Katara didn't even think. She made a sphere of earth around her and Toph to protect against the knives. She felt the knives pierce the wall and stick to the surface.

The person then jumped to the ground, incorrectly assuming that they were unable to see through the earth, and walked toward them. With two jabs of her elbows, Katara imprisoned the person in an earth cage.

Katara lowered the walls down and turned to see the person. She almost screamed at what faced her. It was a girl. However her face was badly burned along her whole left side and three long, thick claw marks ran from her hairline down the right side of her face. Her right eye seemed to be swollen shut and her left was narrowed at them.

"Who are you?" Katara commanded, amazed that her voice was so firm when she was so freaked.

The girl glared at them before spitting out "Zin Jun."

"What do you want with us?" Toph said.

The girl glared at them. She seemed to eye them angrily and spat "There's a price on _her_ head." She nodded in Katara's direction. "The big bad girl that interrupted the execution. Did you know that none of those people have been found?" A huge weight had been lifted off Katara's shoulders. None of them were in serious trouble for evading arrest. "Now there are huge search parties of hundreds of people out there. The valuable resources are being put toward this stupid search because of _you!"_

With a downward thrust of her hand, Katara encased the girl in a box of earth. She turned to Toph and said "What should we do with her?"

Toph shrugged before turning away. "Leave her like that. We've got to go. Come on." With that the two girls left the imprisoned one and walked away.

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><p><strong>So what do you think of the assassin? Interesting? Tell me in reviews. <strong>


	17. The Firebender Camp

**So sorry for not updating recently. I have a long winded explaination for this but I always find those annoying so I'll just cut to the story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot**

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><p>For several hours they walked. Then, they felt another presence. Unlike the previous who seemed to be hunting and tracking, this one seemed to be completely unaware that they were in the vicinity. Hesitantly, the two girls went toward the person. They had their hands ready to bend if necessary and they prepared for a fight.<p>

When they reached a spot that the person was surely to cross, they waited for him to arrive. They stood at the ready until the man entered to clearing.

He was tall and had brown hair. His eyes were the grey and he wore a black cloak over red sleeves. When he noticed the two girls in the clearing, his eyes widened. He tried to turn and run but Katara bent a wall into his escape route. He stood facing the wall, muttering to himself. He said things like "Oh no. Jeong Jeong's no going to be happy about this. I gotta get away."

He looked at them and, as if it was just dawning on him, said "You're earthbenders?" At their nods he said "Why are you wearing Fire Nation clothes?"

The girls paused for a moment before Katara said "We're looking for Jeong Jeong. We need to speak with him immediately."

The man narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Why?"

Katara looked at him and said "It has something to do with the war effort. Now we heard you muttering about him. Can you take us to him?" The man still looked suspicious. Therefore, Katara said "As you can tell from the wall behind you, we're not Fire Nation. But we do need to talk with him."

The man came to a decision and said "Alright. Follow me. The name's Chey. You are?"

Katara said "I'm Katara and this is Toph. We're sorry about the scare. We had a run in with an assassin not far back and we wanted to make sure you were safe to talk to."

The man looked at them. "An assassin? Why?"

Katara smiled slightly and said "You heard about the interrupted execution?"

Chey nodded. "Of course. Who hasn't? It's all anyone talks about in the city when I go in for recon."

Katara smiled. "That was me."

Chey stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened at her and he said "No way! That was you? That's awesome. People have been talking about how you singlehandedly took down seven firebenders and freed five people! Wicked!" At the end of his exclamation, he ushered them forward with a revitalized effort.

He walked them through meadows and woods. They continued walking until they came into a clearing. Around the clearing there were several tents and multiple people walking about. Of course, Katara and Toph had notice the area before, but Chey seemed so excited to show them that they pretended not to.

Chey looked at them and said "Jeong Jeong is in that tent over there." He pointed toward a tent at the edge of the clearing. Before he could say anything else, Katara was walking toward the tent. She ignored Chey's calls and continued her advancement. After a moment of walking, she was in front of the tent.

Katara took a deep breath before pulling back the curtain and going into the tent. The inside was dimly lit with a half circle of candles in front of a man's back. Katara looked at the aged man, white hair and hunched back. He seemed to be meditating.

After a moment, Katara said "Master Jeong Jeong?" There was a grunt as a reply. That made Katara continue. "My name is Katara and I'm from the Southern Water Tribe. I need your help."

At those words, the man slowly turned around. His gold glared at her. Slowly, so slowly, he said "And what can I do for you, Katara of the Southern Water Tribe?"

Katara took a deep breath and said "This may be hard to believe, but I'm the Avatar." She let that sit for a moment before saying "I've already mastered waterbending and earthbending. I need you to teach me firebending. I can't find anyone else."

Jeong Jeong sat there for what felt like eternity. He gazed at Katara with his detached gold eyes. His gaze seemed to look through her soul. Finally, he nodded and said "I will teach you the art of firebending. However, there must be a place where we can train without interruption." After a moment's thought he said "Go outside and find Chey. Tell him to give you the maps of the Fire Nation islands. Bring them to me."

With a nod Katara left the tent and went to Chey. She told him what she needed and he nodded and quickly went off the get them. That left Katara and Toph alone for a moment.

"Well, he agreed to teach me." Katara said this somewhat shrilly at the end. She didn't know what to think of the man. Though he left the Fire Nation, he seemed to bitter and detached.

"Well that's great. Do you start training soon?"

"Soon I think. He needs to find a place to train without interruption. That's why he needs those maps, I think." At that moment, Chey returned with the maps and gave them to Katara. She smiled and thanked him before going back to Jeong Jeong's tent.

Once inside, it seemed that Jeong Jeong cleared off the low table in front of him. She place the scrolls on the table but remained standing.

He looked up at her, kindness in his eyes for the first time and said "Sit Avatar." It wasn't much kindness but it was more than she had seen before that.

Jeong Jeong unrolled one of the scrolls. It was a large map of the Fire Nation. He glanced over it before looking up at her. "Do you have any idea what we're looking for?" There was no venom in his voice, just curiosity.

"I think you're looking for a place to stay permanently to train me. Right?" She added the last word as an afterthought.

Jeong Jeong nodded. "Yes. You see the Fire Nation is mainly an archipelago. That means that it is a cluster of islands. However there are undress of islands, close to a thousand. Many of them are completely deserted. If we go to one, it should not be difficult to train there. Now, which to choose?" He looked over the map for another minute.

Katara, too, studied the map. She had looked over the map until noticing an island. It was quite a distance from the others and very far back. She somehow knew that it wouldn't be a good position to support trade. It was a good size though so Katara pointed it out. "How about that one?"

Jeong Jeong looked at her. He nodded his head and said "Yes. That might work. It is very close the the ruins of the Sun Warrior civilization. It would be terrible for trade and it is unoccupied. Alright. We will settle there. However I will have to find someone to replace me here."

Katara looked at him and said "Alright, but I need to ask. A friend of mine, Toph, is here. I need her to come with us. She was my earthbending teacher and, though I did master it, we've worked together for a year. We want to stick together. It that alright?"

Jeong Jeong thought for a moment before saying "Alright. the three of us will set off at dawn."

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><p><strong>So there it is. What do you think? Awesone? I know. And you can prove that it's awesome with reviews.<strong>


	18. Firebending on an Island

**Sorry about the update time. But I'm back and I've got a ton of chapters done and hundreds in my head. I mean really, It's tempting to just add in a bunch of filler chapters, but I'm a firm believer that every chapter have a purpose, so here we go.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar or any of the Characters. Trust me, Aang wouldn't have been the Last Airbender if I did.**

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><p>Arriving at the island had been simple enough. Jeong Jeong had named Chey s his replacement head of the group. The three departing then set off. They went to the water where Katara bent a bubble for them to stay in. She then began driving the bubble through the water at immense speed. She knew roughly how far she had to go. Toph, thankfully, had been accommodated. Katara bent a slab of earth for them to sit on to allow her to see. With that settled they awaited their arrival.<p>

After about six hours of traveling, Katara brought them to the surface. From there they could see what Jeong Jeong said were the ruins of the Sun Warrior civilization. Knowing how close they were, Katara sped up her procession and they arrived at the island an hour later.

As they reached the island, they stepped onto the beach. They hastily moved over the beach and into the forest area. Though there wasn't supposed to be anyone around, there wasn't anything wrong with being cautious. The trio ascended up into the forest, Toph and Katara paving a slight path so that they would know their way, until they came to the foot of the extinct volcano. Actually, the entire island was the volcano but this was the part where it became noticeable.

Jeong Jeong told them to stop. He said that this would be where the house would be built. Toph and Katara then used the stone underfoot to create a basic cottage to stay in. It was simple with five rooms on one floor. They would all be residing in the house until they were finished with training.

Jeong Jeong then told Katara that they would be practicing breathing the day after. As a gift to him to thank him for teaching her, Katara went about twenty yards into the forest. Using the plantbending that Hama had taught her, Katara uprooted all the trees in the area. Then, she brought all of the stone from below up to the surface to create a gazebo for meditation. After that, she bent all of the dirt and grime off of the gazebo and it was done. After that she went back to the house, paving a path as she went.

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><p>The next morning, Katara was woken at sunrise to begin training. She told Jeong Jeong that she had something to show him and she led him to the gazebo. Upon reaching it, she turned to him.<p>

"I made it as a thank you for training me. We'll be able to meditate and practice breathing here."

Jeong Jeong stared at the gazebo for a moment and then nodded. "Yes. Let's begin our training." The two of them walked up to the gazebo and sat down.

"Now, firebending is all in the breath. You must have perfect breath control to safely firbend. Failure to possess control could lead to danger for those around you. Therefore, until noon today, you will be practicing your breathing. You must breathe in through your nose, and exhale slowly from your mouth. Let us begin."

And breath they did. Katara sat there for six hours breathing. She inhaled through her nose, and exhaled through her mouth. She did that for six hours. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. And on it went.

Finally, noon came. Jeong Jeong opened his eyes and stood. "Katara. Let us begin the lesson."

Katara rose and followed Jeong Jeong as he walked through the forest. As he did, he spoke. "Firebending is the most dangerous bending art. To control fire is to control a living thing. One must have constant discipline when firebending. For if discipline is not exerted, the fire could easily grow out of control.

"Many firebenders believe that the source of the power is rage and anger. This is incorrect because fire created by anger cannot be controlled. It will grow and expand to the point of loss of control. That is why, when bending, one must be sure that you always have control."

After his lecture, Jeong Jeong went over to a tree and plucked a large leaf. He then held the leaf in front of Katara. "I will light a small fire on this leaf. It will be in the center and will slowly burn out until it consumes the entire leaf. Your goal is to halt its progress. Look at the embers that will burn the leaf. Your goal will be to slow the burning for as long as you can. Here," he said as he handed the leaf to Katara.

Then, he snapped his finger and a small fire arose from it. It wasn't large, about the size of that of a dying candle flame, and he placed his flame underneath the center of the leaf. Katara watched as a hole appeared in the center of the leaf. It was small and seemed to be expanding slowly.

Katara focused her attention on the leaf. She stared at the hole and willed the fire to stop. She focused on the flame and its progress along the leaf. Slowly the leaf was burning out, but Katara was amazed to see that the flame was slowing. And it was. About a centimeter from the sides, the flame halted in its tracks.

Katara wanted to jump for joy. That had been the first time that any bending art she did went correctly on the first try. However, she maintained her focus and continued to will the flame to slow. Slowly, the flame completely died.

Jeong Jeong looked at Katara and said "Excellent work, Katara. You managed to completely extinguish the flame. Good work."

Jeong Jeong then led Katara back to the gazebo. It had been an hour since she left and, in that time, Jeong Jeong filled the place with candles. They lined the entire area and Katara had to jump over them to enter.

At that point, Jeong Jeong began to light the candles. He went around and spoke as he did. "As you seem to have mastered halting a fire. Your next exercise it to increase it. As you can see, there are thirty two candles in the gazebo. Now they are all lit. Your goal is to force the fires on these candles to expand. Make them grow. However, you must be careful. Do not allow the fire to grow too big or you will lose control. You have until the fires die on all the candles. Begin."

Jeong Jeong stepped back and Katara sat there. She stared at the candles in front of her. Their small flickering flames danced in front of her. Katara decided to try and focus on one. Too many fires would cause too much difficulty. By only dealing with one, she would be able to put more power into it.

Katara stared at the candle directly in front of her. She glared at it, willing it to grow. It continued to flicker at her at the same level. She continued to stare. After almost an hour of staring at the flames, nothing happened. The candles had nearly died out and Katara continued to focus on it. Slowly, the wax melted and the candles died.

Katara looked up to see Jeong Jeong nodding. "Yes, yes. I did expect that. Come, Katara." He motioned for her to follow and they headed back to the house.

Sitting down in the house, Katara felt that Toph wasn't there. She must have went out to explore the island.

"Katara," Jeong Jeong said. "Firebending is a dangerous element. It does not give. It only destroys. You, I think, are quite lucky. You can waterbend. The ability to heal is open to you. The problem is that, as long as you think like a waterbender, you will never be able to truly firebend."

Katara nodded. "May I ask, where did firebending come from?"

"The dragons were the original firebenders. They taught the Sun Warriors the art. It has then been passed down to us."

"Is there a way to firebend without destroying everything that's around you?" Katara asked. Personally, she didn't think firebending was completely bad. She wanted him to say that it wasn't.

"If there is," Jeong Jeong said, "Then I haven't found it yet."

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><p><strong>So what did you think? Did I capture Jeong Jeong's innate self loathing correctly? Did Katara get it too fast? Well it's been written so it won't change, but I love the feedback. SO, tell me.<strong>


	19. A New Old Source

**This was easy to write. I always thought Jeong Jeong needed this so I think that this'll be fun to see. Anyway, let's get on with it.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Avatar.**

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><p>Six months went by similarly. Every morning Katara was woken up. She went to the gazebo and practiced breathing until noon. At noon, Jeong Jeong gave her a task of sorts. For the first two weeks, the task was trying to expand the fire. On the fourteenth day, Katara managed to increase the flames. The difference wasn't significant but it was improvement.<p>

Katara spent a week after that trying to expand the fire to greater sizes and still maintain control. This was particularly difficult on the third day. She had been expanding the fire and she accidentally caused it to grow. She lost control of the flames and they set fire to the gazebo. Jeong Jeong stepped in and quickly extinguished the flames before they could spread.

By the end of the week she had managed to expand the fires and still maintain control of them, albeit with a great amount of difficulty. Therefore, Jeong Jeong moved her onto her next exercise. For the first time, he made her create fire.

The point of the exercise was to create a small flame, no larger than that of a candle's, and to hold it in her hand. She was not allowed to let it grow too small, for it would go out. Nor was she able to let it grow too big, for she would lose control.

Her first attempt at creating fire didn't produce any results. All she did was stand there and stare at her hand. The fire that she wished to create never formed. She stood there for twenty minutes. Finally, she conceded that she wasn't able to form fire.

Jeong Jeong, though not pleased with her inability to make fire, said he expected nothing less. Firebending would always be difficult for her while training. He then made the fire himself and passed it to her to hold. Katara was pleased to see that she was able to hold the fire Jeong Jeong created for several minutes before it flickered and died. Then, Jeong Jeong led her back to the house for the theoretical half of her training.

The next day followed the same pattern. However, Katara was made to hold the fire for the entire time. She did this every day for three weeks with sporadic success. By the third week she was able to hold the fire in her hand indefinitely. She still had trouble creating her own though.

"It's your opposing nature," Jeong Jeong had said. "You are a fluid, controlled person. Fire does not wish to be controlled, and that conflicts with who you are. It is difficult for you to generate the heat necessary to create your own fire."

So she tried again. Another two weeks went by before she finally managed to make a weak, flickering flame. It went out after about thirty seconds, but she still managed to do it. That was cause for celebration.

Every evening for the entire time they were there, Jeong Jeong would tell Toph and Katara the history of the Fire Nation. He would speak of the Sun Warriors and the Fire Lords before Sozin. The times of peace that existed long ago.

It made Katara wonder what the people of old drew their firebending from. The way Jeong Jeong described it, he was one of the only people that didn't draw fire from rage. If there was no rage before the war then what did they use as a drive for their bending?

One night, after Jeong Jeong had went to bed, Katara stayed with Toph to talk. "Toph,"

Toph looked at her. "Yeah Sweetness? What's running through that pretty little head?"

"I'm having trouble with my firebending. I know Jeong Jeong tells me every day that it's because it's my natural opposite. And I think that that is part of the problem. But another thing is that I don't have the drive to really master firebending. What do you think I should do?"

Toph took a moment to think it over. She looked at Katara and said "You need to find a source. And my recommendation would be the original source. It'll be the most powerful."

Katara looked at her. "What do you mean? The original source?"

"Well," Toph said. "The first earthbenders were the badgermoles. When I ran away, they taught me earthbending. I suggest you find out what the original source of firebending is and learn from that."

Katara nodded. "I think I get it. Like when I was younger, before I met my waterbending master, I used to sit outside every night and watch the moon control the tides. It really helped my bending because the moon was the first waterbender."

Toph looked at Katara and nodded. "Exactly. I suggest you ask Jeong Jeong to take you to the original firebenders. That's the best way to learn. Good night." With that, Toph walked into her own room and closed the door.

That night, Katara slept restlessly. She tossed and turned as visions of raging fires through blackened nights filled her sleeping head. She watched dragons. They flew through her vision and around her mental sky. Then, she watched as they were slain. Beast after beast was struck down and slain. Their blood running down slopes and into the ocean, turning it red.

Katara was once again woken by Jeong Jeong. He motioned for her to follow him. However, she stopped him.

"Master Jeong Jeong." He turned to face her so she continued. "I need to ask you something. I know you said fire was my natural opposite and everything, but I think part of the reason that I'm not bending well is that I don't have a drive for my bending. I talked to Toph and she told me that she learned earthbending from the first earthbenders. That got me thinking, maybe I could develop some skill by learning from the original firebenders."

Jeong Jeong stood there, staring at her for a moment. Then, he nodded his head. "Yes. The original firebenders would be excellent teachers. However the dragons no longer exist. They are extinct."

Suddenly, an idea dawned on Katara. "But they taught the Sun Warriors. Maybe exploring their ruins would be the way to learn some techniques."

Jeong Jeong stood there for a moment contemplating. Finally, he nodded. "We must head to the shore immediately. We want to arrive at the ruins within an hour. Come!"

With that, the two of them walked out of the house and down to the beach. At the shore, Katara bent the water into a bubble and they sailed to the ruins. Upon arrival, they noted that the city seemed to be sprawling with vines and moss. This gave the ruins a deserted feel.

They walked through the city for an hour before reaching a stone. When they stepped on a slab of stone in the ground, the ground in front of them sunk away to reveal spikes. Katara then used earthbending to raise the ground beck up to its original position and they continued walking.

Upon reaching a pavilion, the two noted that the door at the edge was locked. They noticed a sun stone on a large pillar. Jeong Jeong looked around before turning to Katara.

"It is a celestial calendar. It can only be opened on the solstice."

Katara looked at him for a moment. Then, with a smirk playing on her features she walked over to the beam of light on the ground. From her pocket, she pulled out a wrought iron hand mirror. She put it under the beam and began maneuvering it so that the light hit the stone. After a moment, the door opened.

"There we go," Katara said happily. She walked past Jeong Jeong who stood there, staring at her. He shook his head before walking through the door with her.

Inside, they found statues. Each statue stood in a position and they circled around the center of the room. Katara looked around the room before her eyes widened. "It's a firebending technique. Master Jeong Jeong! Come try this with me." Jeong Jeong came over to her but she just waved her hands at him. "Just follow the statues over there!"

With that, master and student began to follow the statues. With each step, they felt a tile on the floor sink slightly. When they completed the technique, they both turned to see a large gemstone in the center rising from the ground.

Katara looked at it and smiled. "Well, I don't think either of us are stupid enough to touch that. So what do we do?"

Jeong Jeong looked at the stone before saying "Let us leave this place." They walked out of the room and down the pavilion steps.

Jeong Jeong turned to Katara and said "That was very clever thing to do with the mirror."

"Thanks," Katara said dismissively. "The thing is that I've known Toph for over a year. She taught me that the simplest idea usually brings the best results."

Suddenly, they were surrounded. Katara hadn't been paying attention to their surroundings because she didn't think anyone would be around. That mistake allowed an entire group of people to surround them.

Katara and Jeong Jeong dropped into fighting stances. They prepared to fight the people. Then, one of them stepped forward. Katara noticed that he, like all of them, wore red towel-like robe from the waist down. Ha had markings in red paint across parts of his face.

"Who are you?" His voice was menacing and his glower intimidating.

Katara had no idea where her courage came from, but she stepped forward and said "I am Avatar Katara. This is my firebending master, Jeong Jeong. We came here to learn of the original source of firebending."

Katara stared up at the man. She waited for a moment before he said "We are the Sun Warriors, young Avatar. Come. You wish to learn the ancient and noble art of firebending. Then you will learn it from the masters. Ran and Shaw." The man then led them toward the top of a pyramid. He showed them a fire burning in the center.

"This is the original fire. A gift from the dragons." The two stared in awe. They watched the fire in awe.

"Amazing," Jeong Jeong muttered under his breath.

"If you wish to learn from the masters, then you must present some of the eternal flame to them. You will find them in the caves over there." He pointed onto the horizon where two caves stood. Then, he pulled two balls of fire from the flames and handed one to each of them.

"Take these to the masters. Go."

With that, the two went on their way. They walked in silence, broken only by the sounds of the wilderness around them. Upon reaching the summit at the bottom of the mountains, Katara noticed that the people were already there. She was dying to ask how they had gotten up there so quickly, but she didn't.

"Now," the chief said, "You must present the fire to the masters. Go!"

With that, the two walked up the steps to the pavilion. They each held up their flame while facing a different cave. Suddenly, the Sun Warriors began chanting and a horn was blown. A rumbling began in the caves and, from them, shot out two dragons. One red and one blue. They circled and twisted around the steps and slowly each of them sucked up the fire that was being offered to them. With the offering taken, the dragons rested, their mouths facing the two on either side. Then, they shot fire at the two.

It was unlike any fire they had ever seen. The colors were that of orange and red. But also there was green and blue and even purple. They all blended together in a circle around the two. And from that circle, they began to understand. The fire was beautiful and alive and bright. It was like the fire they had been holding. A powerful heartbeat. It was a living thing.

Slowly, the colors faded and the dragons shot back into the caves. Katara and Jeong Jeong descended to the pavilion to speak with the chief.

"The masters deemed you worthy. They have shown you the truths of fire." The chief said.

Jeong Jeong looked at the chief, then Katara, then glanced at the caves. "My whole life I have thought of fire as a curse. It was something dangerous and a horror of the world. Now I realize that it isn't meant to be so. It is meant to live and glorify the world with its beauty. And using it to fight doesn't show weakness as long as you are fighting for the right reasons."

"It was a heartbeat," Katara added. "In my hands, it was a heartbeat. To firebend I'll need to tap into the fire within myself before I truly can use it."

With that, Katara thought of her family. She thought of all the people she met in the Earth Kingdom. The Air Nomads that were slaughtered. Even the Fire Nation, for all of the horrors, came to mind. These were the people she needed to protect. It was her job. Her _destiny!_

And so, Katara didn't know how she knew it, but she executed a perfect firebending punch and, unlike her previous tries, she shot a huge burst of fire from her fist.

With what they learned, Katara and Jeong Jeong thanked the Sun Warriors and were told never to reveal their existence to anyone. They then left for the water and sailed back to the island.

After that day, many things changed. For one, Katara was able to produce fire on her own. She was able to create large bursts and kicks. She was able to perform the techniques Jeong Jeong assigned her within ten tries.

But more than that changed. Jeong Jeong's teachings became more offensive. It wasn't aggressive but it was dangerous. The techniques were for actual fighting.

After two years of extensive training, Jeong Jeong declared her a firebending Master.

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><p><strong>And so there it is. Katara's a master firebender...sort of. Rest assured that she still has a lot to learn, but that won't be for a looong time.<strong>

**Tell me what you think: Review.**


	20. A Dream of Airbenders

**Okay. I just wanted to let everyone know I'm NOT abandoning this story. It took me a while but I've finally sifted through all the files on my computer and found this...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar**

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><p>Now that Katara had mastered firebending, she was meant to move onto air. However, that was easier said than done. There were no more airbenders in the world. There was no one to teach her. She had hit a road block that she didn't think she would be able to overcome. There simply wasn't anyone to teach her the art.<p>

Katara walked over to Jeong Jeong. She looked up at him. They were standing on the beach because she and Toph were leaving for the Earth Kingdom. They planned to start there as they searched for someone to help her in some way. She looked at him and said "What going to happen now?"

Jeong Jeong looked at her and said "Well, I think I will stay here for the time being. It is nice to live in peace. Do not worry;when the time comes I will join the fight against the Fire Nation. Until then, farewell my pupil."

Katara nodded and turned back to the shore. Toph was already in the bubble she had created and they prepared for their takeoff. With one last glance back at Jeong Jeong, Katara submerged the balloon.

"Hey Katara," Toph said from behind her. She seemed upset as well and she said "You okay?" Katara took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine. Come on. I need to find someone."

And so Katara waterbent them all the way back to the mainland within a day. Upon arrival, the two of them ran into the forest and continued running for two hours. When they deemed themselves safely secluded, they set up camp.

Toph said that she slept throughout their trip so she would stand guard first. She ignored Katara's pleas and soon Katara gave up.

Upon falling asleep, Katara had one of those dreams that she wished she wouldn't have. It was one of those dreams where she was taken into a vision.

She was flying on Aang's Flying Bison, Appa. Aang stat in front, looking ahead as he rode.

"_So you're ready to master airbending_," Aang said this in a tired, no exhausted voice.

"I need to," Katara said.

Aang nodded. "_I'll show you the way_." With that, they took off speeding through the skies. Land passed below them and they continued until they arrived at a forest area.

They landed and Aang hopped off. Katara climbed down after him and she followed him through the forest. After a few minutes of traveling, they came to a small cave.

The cave was dark with no light. However, the place somehow allowed air to flow through the entire space. They walked through the space until they noticed a light ahead of them. When they came into the space, they noticed four people sitting around. The youngest seemed to be about fourteen and the oldest about thirty five to forty. The others seemed to be in between those ages. The people wore assortments of clothes. One girl, the youngest apparently, wore the green of the Earth Kingdom. A boy wore wore the blues of the Water Tribes. One of them even wore the red of the Fire Nation. Only one, the thirty five year old man in the middle of the back wall, wore the orange robes of an Air Nomad. There was one thing similar about all their clothes. They were dirty, wrinkled, and tattered.

Katara looked at Aang in confusion. "Why did you bring me to this place? They're people wearing different kinds of clothes."

Aang shook his head. "_No Katara. They're not_." He looked around the room and said "_These are the last remaining airbenders_."

Katara was shocked to say the least. She looked around the room with newfound awe. Airbenders? Amazing.

Aang called her from behind. "_You must find them, but there's another stop on your trip before this one. Come._"

Aang left the room and Katara followed after him. In no time at all, they were back on Appa and flying away from the airbenders. They flew to the east until they came into another forest. The cave that they went into this time was far less populated.

There were seven people inside. Two were women. Two were men. One was a child, roughly seven years old, and two were babies. All wore tattered Earth Kingdom attire. However, her last stop taught her not to judge people by their clothes.

"They're airbenders, too?" she asked Aang.

He nodded at her and said "_You've got to come here. Convince these people to go with you and travel to the others. From there, ask a man named Afiko to teach you airbending. __Tell him you're the Avatar and doing so will absolve his sins. Goodbye Katara."_

With that, Aang faded into nothing and Katara woke up. The sun was just rising when Katara looked at Toph. The girl seemed to have passed out and Katara had to shake her awake.

"What," Toph moaned in her sleepy state. "Come on. We need to get moving."

When Toph was finally up, Katara filled her in on her findings. With that known, Toph assisted Katara in creating their cavern which they would travel in.

The two of them worked tirelessly for two days. When they came up to search their surroundings, Katara knew that there was danger. They were near a village. Toph and Katara decided to head into the village in order to find out how close they were.

What they didn't expect from the village was Fire Nation hangings. They had walked into a claimed village. Fire Nation Guards patrolled the area and few Earth Kingdom people walked about.

The pair walked into a shop and looked at the woman manning the counter. She was older, around fifty, with greying brown hair and green eyes. She looked at them and said "May I help you?"

Katara nodded. "Yes. Can you please tell us how far we are from Xing Wu Forest?"

The woman appeared to be startled by the request. She stumbled over her words for a moment before saying "Yes. Of course. The forest is near the next town over. Xing Wu is at the base of the mountain. The mountain doubles as the forest."

Katara smiled and nodded. "Thank you." With that, the two girls left the shop and headed to the other side of the village. To entertain herself, Toph began earthbending a few pebbles in her hand. Before Katara could tell her to stop, they heard a guard.

"Hey you! Earthbending is illegal here!" And so, they were surrounded by guards. Both girls dropped into fighting stances. Katara readied herself to use firebending. She figures that now that she knew the art, she might as well develop it. However, Toph slowly shaking her head deflated Katara's resolve. Instead she began earthbending.

There were twelve guards surrounding them. The first thing Katara did was bury three of them in the ground. Their heads were still visible but they were out of commission. Then, with a sharp jab of her hand, she sent another flying backward on moving earth. With two sharp elbow jabs, earth came up and imprisoned the remaining guards. Toph had made quick work of the guards she was facing and the two girls hurried out of the village.

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><p><em>How is that possible?<em> Prince Zuko thought as he watched the girl run away. He was sure it was the same one. It was the girl that had frozen him to a tree. That had been waterbending. That would mean that it would be impossible for her to use earthbending.

_Unless…No! It was impossible_. Zuko had known from the Fire Sages that the Avatar was the last airbender. He would be over one hundred years old by now. And that was another thing. HE! The Avatar wasn't a girl! The Avatar was an old man!

Zuko walked back to where his ship was docked. He swiftly boarded and walked to his Uncle's room. He didn't knock, simply walked in to find his Uncle sitting and having a cup of tea.

"Hello, Prince Zuko," Uncle said. "What brings you to my chambers today?"

Zuko looked at him. "The Avatar. He must have been reborn."

Iroh looked at his nephew. "And what, may I ask, makes you say that?"

Zuko sat across from his Uncle. "That girl. The one that froze me to a tree. I just saw her again."

Iroh guffawed. "So you keep running into her? That sounds like a future girlfriend and not the Avatar."

Zuko shook his head. Blushing profusely, he said "No! This time she was earthbending. Only the Avatar can bend all the elements. The old Avatar must have died and he must have been reborn into that girl."

That made Iroh put his pot of Jasmine Tea down. He began stroking his chin before saying "So what do you plan to do to catch the girl?"

The prince slammed his hand down. "I need you to come with me! We must go after the Avatar! She's travelling by land so I need your help."

The prince's uncle looked vaguely surprised. "Come with you? Why do you need my help? You have a ship full of warriors at your disposal."

Zuko took a deep breath before saying "But that would give us away. I want to sneak up on her and it has to be the two of us. We're the only ones with enough skill."

After a moment's hesitation, Iroh nodded. He pulled himself to his feet and walked with his nephew out of the room and off the ship in search for the Avatar.

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><p><strong>And so there it is. Sorry about the long wait, but at least I finally got it out. So, yeah.<strong>


	21. A Family of Cave Dwellers

**And so Katara will finally have some serious trouble, though you may not notice how bad for a few more chapters. Send me a review if you think you know what it might be. Plus, there's a Fire Nation twist coming up soon that I'm sure with surprise a few people.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar**

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><p>Katara and Toph had been walking through the forest for an hour. It took them that long to get a sense of where the airbenders were. From that they went running. They reached the cave entrance and continued forward. After minutes of running through the cave, they noticed a light at the end of the tunnel.<p>

They entered the cavern to find themselves face to face with four people, all in Earth Kingdom attire, standing at the ready to fight. Their expressions were angry and the stood in front of the children to protect them from the supposed threat.

Katara held up her hands. "Hold on! We don't want to hurt you. We need your help."

The looks that the people share were ones of wariness. They didn't trust the intruders and they wanted to know what they wanted. Finally, one of them, a man in his early twenties, nodded and said "Explain."

Katara took a deep breath. "My name is Katara. I'm from the Southern Water Tribe. I'm the Avatar." There was a small gasp from one of the women and the young boy smiled brightly. "I've already mastered waterbending, earthbending, and firebending. My past lives brought me here. They told me to take you all and go to another airbending settlement. They want the remaining airbenders in one location."

Thankfully, the airbenders dropped their stances. They went over and took their seats and motioned for Katara to move. Anelderly woman, certainly the oldest there, said "Show us proof."

Katara nodded. Then, she walked over to a candle in the room. She picked the fire off of the candle and made it grow. Then she shrunk it back to its original size and put it back.

She then pulled a huge chunk of earth out of the ground and levitated it in the air for several minutes before replacing it. She looked up at the people and waited.

Finally, the woman nodded. "Of course. I am Malu. This is my daughter, Jia. This is my son, Taron. My grandson, Tai. And they are the twins, Jing and Ollie. My daughter, Ira, is out but she will return soon. Please sit. Tell us of your request."

And so, Katara and Toph sat down and told the airbenders of their adventures. About halfway through their tale, a young woman, around twenty, came in. She shared the black hair that they all had. Her eyes were grey like her mother's and sister's. She made to interrupt but her mother held up her hand and she sat down without a word. When the story was complete, Malu nodded.

"Yes. Of course we will come to meet the other airbenders. I sense that the previous Avatar, Aang, wishes for us to learn something from them. And besides, who are we to deny the Avatar?"

With that, she pushed herself to her feet and turned to her family. "Pack. We must leave at once. Taron, go outside and fetch Alla. We will need her to take us." Her son nodded and walked out of the cave.

Malu turned to the visitors and said "We have means of transportation more efficient than a crater in the earth." The woman turned back to her family and said "Come. We must go."

With that, the group marched out of the cave. Outside the entrance was a bison. The bison had a long beaver tail and arrows across its head. As if Aang was whispering it to her, she knew that it was a Flying Bison.

The airbenders began pushing themselves on board the bison. Katara made to join them but Toph said "I'm not going on that thing. I like being able to see thank you very much."

Katara looked at her friend. She then looked back at the earthbenders and said "How about this, we create a thin platform of earth for you to sit on. Would that be okay?" She asked the last part of Malu.

Malu looked at Toph and said "Yes. Of course." With that said, Katara bent a thin layer of earth around Alla. Then, she cut off the sides leaving a small piece of earth for Toph to sit on. With that obstacle out of the way, Toph earthbent herself onto the rack and Katara made to join her.

However, a stream of fire blazed through into the clearing and hit a tree right next to Katara. Katara waved her hand to extinguish the flames before turning to the source. And there he stood. The boy she froze to a tree. Great.

Katara figured that he must have seen her firebending so she figured it wouldn't be a secret for long. Therefore, she decided to simply go with it and sent two blasts of fire at him.

The boy was clearly unprepared for the sudden firebending so he didn't have time to defend before was hit. The blast sent him flying through the trees where he hit a man that had been following him. They both fell to the ground and Katara quickly jumped onto the Flying Bison.

She looked at Malu and said "Get us out of here!"

Malu completely understood and said "Alla! Yip Yip!"

The bison took to the skies and they were flying. Katara looked over the edge to see the two people get to their feet. They performed a complex firebending move that sent two powerfulstreams of fire at the bison.

Katara waved her hands, almost as if she were a mime and creating a wall, and the fire reared off course and hit nothing but air. Katara then watched as the firebenders faded from sight.

Katara turned back to those around her and said "They're gone."

Taron, Katara noticed, had a worried look in his eyes. He glanced at the two young airbenders and said "You're sure?"

Katara was surprised by the parental worry in the man's gaze. He was about her age, twenty-four at the oldest, and looked at the children like her father looked at her. It was odd. He _was_ young. He had black hair and brown eyes. He was lean and he looked at Katara like she wasn't taking the attack seriously.

"Yeah," she said with a nod, "I'm sure." Her absolute certainty seemed to appease the man. Come to think of it, she really should start thinking of the firebender she just faced as a man. She hadn't seen him in years and, back then, she had interpreted manhood as being her father's age. She didn't think that way anymore but when she labeled the firebender, she labeled him a boy and it stuck. _Oh well__,_ she thought, _maybe someday she'll think of him as an adult._

Ira looked at Katara. "What I want to know is why he was attacking us?" She looked at Katara for answers, as everyone seemed to be doing lately.

Katara sighed and thought about it. She didn't do anything to him, well except for freeze him to a tree, so he shouldn't have any vendetta. Unless…he was in the village! If he was in the village, and he saw her earthbending, it wouldn't be difficult to put two and two together. All he would have to do was identify her as the girl from before.

"I think he was after me," she said after a moment's hesitation. At the questioning looks she received, she continued. "A few years ago, before I learned firebending, I was practicing my waterbending as he snuck up on me. I froze him to a tree and ran away. But today, in a village not far from here, I used earthbending to fight some Fire Nation soldiers. If he was there, though I didn't see him, he would have been able to realize I was the Avatar. He might be hunting me."

Toph looked up. She looked as if she was trying to look at Katara as she said "That was the prince that made us leave the factory? He forced us on the run! I thought we were done with him." However, were it not for the message, she could have been talking to anyone. The earth didn't extend over the whole Flying Bison and she looked out into the air as she talked, away from everyone.

"Yeah," Katara said, "That's him. I think he's after me. With that being said, we've got to get going."

With that said, Malu urged Alla to go faster through the air.

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><p><em>She got away<em>, ran through Zuko's mind. He and Iroh were hurrying back to their ship. If they were fast enough, they may be able to catch the Avatar. The problem was that they had no clue where the Avatar was headed. She could be going anywhere. Plus, she was flying over land on some thing!

They had just arrived on the dock and were boarding their ship when Zuko noticed something that made all the blood drain from his face. There, sitting on a chair in the center of his ship, was Azula.

She smiled at him and said "Hello, Zuzu. Mind if I come along for the ride?"

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><p><strong>So yes, Katara's found some airbenders and Azula's along for The ride. This should be fun...<strong>


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